Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
by lothcat1138
Summary: Set in a slight AU of Season 4. Sabine and Ezra have been reunited after the events on Mandalore and Sabine's time with her family, but things won't be the same between them anymore (Formerly Random EzraSabine Story(ies))
1. 1: An Evening on Krownest

_**With Rebels Season 4 in full swing, I've found myself appreciating how much I enjoy and am going to miss Rebels. I've also found that, over the last few weeks, I've become hugely invested in Ezrabine/Sabezra. I have no idea why, I don't usually like pairings in shows and initially I wasn't a fan of the pair, but after S3 and now S4, I'm convinced not only will they end up together, but also I actually feel it makes sense and works for both characters. It's been a long time since I've written fanfics; probably 4-5 years ago I wrote a bit of South Park and I think some Elder Scrolls but I've haven't got a clue of what they were anymore or what my account was. To be honest, the only writing I've done independently since has been a couple of political opinion pieces and history articles. However, I found myself wanting to write something with Ezra and Sabine so I settled on writing a couple of probably unrelated little stories with the two. I've read quite a few in the last few days, and whilst I liked some like 'The Argument', most involved either character death, graphic sex, a ridiculous amount of Legends material, Earth/ modern AU or a mountain of OCs, none of which were really what I personally wanted from a story. There were very few that I felt kept close enough to the show to fit my preference, so I though why not make one of my own. I have no idea if this will be any good or enjoyable, but why not? It seemed like fun.  
**_  
 _ **This first one is just a random idea I had, a bit of fluff if you will. I didn't want it all to be just Ezrabine stuff so I decided to include a bit of story beforehand to fill out the chapter.**_

 _ **This is set just after Season 4's 2-part premiere 'Heroes of Mandalore'. In this scenario, the Wren clan host an event as a sort of celebration for their victory on Mandalore as well as a celebration of the future and to remember those who served Clan Wren that died in the fighting. Ursa, Tristna, Alrich and all the other Wrens go of course, including Sabine. Fenn Rau, Kanan, Ezra and I suppose Chopper are all welcomed to the event as guests. This story is from Sabine's perspective mainly, and covers a bit of the event and then the evening afterwards. The latter part of this fic is the main Ezrabine stuff, but I tried to make it all at least somewhat interesting.**_

* * *

Sabine sat on the right side of a table in the centre of the Throne Room of the Wren Stronghold, to her left her mother Ursa and then her father Alrich and her brother the furthest away. Their table was a few feet removed and facing into a U-shaped arrangement of three larger tables, on which sat dozens of Wren warriors and allies, a handful of Mandalorians from other Clans like Fenn Rau, and in the two seats closest to her on the right on the other table sat her two Jedi friends.

The atmosphere wasn't entirely what Sabine was expecting. She had never truly attended a traditional Mandalorian celebration like this. They weren't a culture to put much stock into celebrating birthdays or holidays, such events were reserved for a Mandalorians favourite times; victory in battle. Growing up under the Empire, there was no great conflict for her Clan to fight in, no battles or enemies to vanquish beyond a few pirates or a band of criminals. The fighting on Mandalore however, was different. Breaking the Empire's power, uniting in the face of an overwhelming enemy, recovering her father and, most importantly, emerging as victors was more than enough cause for revelry. To see the Mandalorian warriors in the hall laughing, talking, eating even, was unique. The only other times she'd see so many Mandalorians in one place would be before or just after a battle. It was nice, she reflected, to get together outside of the theatre of war. Of course, most of the discussion was of battle. Stories of Imperials slain on Mandalore or older stories of pirates, bounty-hunters and, if she overheard correctly, other Mandalorians. Additionally, given every Mandalorian in the room was not only donning their iconic armour but armed with a rifle or pistol as well, an outsider might be forgiven for thinking they were within moments of starting or finishing a battle.

Her mother and father was deep in conversation. As much as her mother in particular tried to project an image of strength and indifference, it was clear both were beyond happy to be at each other's side. The glowing smile they gave each other throughout the evening or the gentle holding of each other's hand both showed that deep down even the most stoic Mandalorian had a heart and the desire to open it to others. Sabine had been happy to spend most of the gathering enjoying the food and drinks, though she'd talk with her parents and had a few exchanges with her brother from across the table.

"Sabine Wren", the call snapped her away from her family and to her right where a tall Mandalorian woman wearing Clan Wren armour stood. "I haven't had the chance to speak to you. I am Phia Wren, cousin to your father. I haven't seen you since you were barely more than a baby."

Sabine straightened herself to address the warrior, "It's good to see you. I don't think I remember meeting you the first time. Thank you for your help, I'm glad you've been able to come tonight as well".

"You needn't owe me thanks Sabine. You led the warriors on Mandalore and you rescued your father", the Wren woman continued; "it is me who owes you thanks, for redeeming the Wren name for all of us". The woman smiled at Sabine, a genuine smile she noted, not a forced unatural attempt at one.

"I appreciate that, but it wasn't me alone. I couldn't have done it without all the warriors of Clan Wren". _She was getting better at being diplomatic, maybe her time with that Darksaber was paying off after all._

Phia gave a quiet chuckle, "True, I suppose. Your humility is kind but it's okay to accept your own successes in leadership, even if it depended on those under your command". The older woman paused, and her look seemed to grow less happy, less prideful. "I'm sorry, Sabine".

The change of tone was something of a surprise to Sabine. "You're sorry? For what?", she asked, half knowing the answer.

"We let you down, we all did. When you stood up against the Empire, we were so focused on what we feared the Empire would do that we turned our back on family. We all knew the Empire was an enemy to be opposed, yet we shamed you and ourselves by staying quiet". Her apology was heartfelt and full of regret, yet the woman seemed confident in saying it. She was ashamed of what she and the other Wrens had done, but she was not too coward to own up to it.

Sabine still wasn't sure how to respond to her. "I.. you don't need to apologise. I broke my oath, I turned on that which I swore to follow, even if in my hear I was doing it for the right reasons". There wasn't any other way she could put it. She knew what the Empire was doing was terrible, and it hurt more than words could describe that her family turned on her, but deep down she knew she should have expected it. Mandalorians were nothing if no honourable, and to break an oath to serve was cause enough to shun someone.

The woman took no time to process her reply. "What you did was brave, more than most would do. I only wish we could have recognised that sooner,". The woman stopped and looked out amongst the people in the hall, most sitting but others walking around to talk with others in the hall. "It all seems to have worked out well for you though. Alrich is home and the Empire is beaten, for now at least,", the woman turned back to Sabine and seemed to collect herself. Reaching out one hand to rest on Sabine's shoulder, Phia Wren leaned slightly in to her "Congratulations Sabine, it is good to have you home". She pulled back and nodded a goodbye, and moved on to speak to her parents.

It wasn't the first encounter like this she'd had. A number of other Mandalorians had come up to her to congratulate her on her role in the victory and on her skill in battle. However, all or nearly all of them came with apologies for what had happened. They asked forgiveness for not standing by her all those years ago, for disrespecting her and for not trusting in her. She forgave every one of them and returned praises and thanks of course, and slowly felt that maybe, just maybe, she might find her place here on Krownest once again.

That time wasn't now though. While she had spent weeks here before returning to Atollon and then Mandalore, it was only now that she had finally confronted the weapon she created and damaged Imperial rule over Mandalore. It would take time for her and the others to adjust to the changes and what they had all endured. However, deep down she knew that her defection years ago still shamed all in Clan Wren. Whether the Empire was oppressive or not, she broke her oath to serve the Empire and turned her back on her family. When she returned only a few months ago some people in this hall tried shooting her down, and ever single one of them would probably have wanted her dead or imprisoned too. Despite everything they'd achieve, she knew it might take time for the others to erase that old view in favour of the Sabine that had returned with the Darksaber to fight for her family.

 _Family._ The word in her mind caused her to turn to Kanan and Ezra, sitting nearby but too far to really engage with. Her and Era had exchanged a few smiles and faces throughout the evening, but no conversation. Kanan... well she was sure he felt her gaze a few times or her smiles in their direction. She knew Kanan couldn't see her, but she hoped that he'd sense her appreciation and acknowledgements. The two Jedi seemed to mostly talk among themselves when they could but did entertain several inquisitive guests sometimes. She'd hear the Wren warriors talking about how strange it was to work with Jedi and thank them for their part in liberating them. Typically there was some light-hearted boasting and challenges, Wren warriors asking to prove themselves against a Jedi. She didn't think Ezra or Kanan would oblige them, but then again Ezra might want to spar with one or two for the experience. Sure he was a Jedi, but from her own training with him she knew he enjoyed some well-meaning combat training.

Ezra seemed to turn to her as she looked, another genuine smile forming as he did so. Her own mouth instinctively replied with a smile as she met his gaze. He seemed to motion to Kanan next to him who was talking to two Mandalorian warriors about something or other. _He must be bored_ she thought. She laughed a bit at him, enough for him to notice. He gave her a joking scowl back and laughed himself. He probably wanted to go off to have some time to himself, Ezra never had been one of big crowds or lots of strangers. Sabine probably would have joined him too. She loved her family yes, but she'd never been a typical Mandalorian glowing up and had always been a solitary person. A good Mandalorian when it came to combat, but also preferring to retire to her quarters and paint or draw rather than mingle with other people. She'd found Ezra to share her appreciation of peace and quiet. During their time on Atollon, they'd both prefer sitting on the outskirts of the perimeter sensors to relax rather than linger in the mess hall or common rooms in the base.

She smiled again, to herself this time. _Ezra Bridger._ He was far from the loth-rat they'd picked up 3 years ago. Taller, braver, stronger, faster, more mature. He'd grown as a leader and a warrior and seen more combat already than many people see in a lifetime. His Jedi powers had grown too her, she could see that when he fought. The young boy who struggled to block one blaster bolt a few years ago now could accurately send whole bursts of fire precisely at multiple different targets. She'd seen his skill in action many times, and through their sparring sessions she'd felt the effects too. Then there were the other ways he'd grown. Emotionally, physically, mentally. It seemed like a different person that had tried so poorly to flirt with her the moment they met. She was glad of it, she certainly wasn't interested in his advances when they met. Despite there being only two years between them, Ezra came across far too young for her tastes. The flirting had died down, though it'd still pop up now and again; there'd been a few attempts at a smooth compliment on a new hairstyle and a few winks and smirks when something she said could be taken in a certain unintentional way. They didn't bother her anymore, she'd even throw some his way too, like a wolf-whistle as he sat topless on the Ghost trying to patch up a post-battle scratch. There was never anything physical, not really anyway. However, she had on some occasions noticed him take a glance for a bit too long at her, or a bit too low on her for that matter. Privately, she knew he was still a 17 year old guy and she was, admittedly, an athletic and physically fit 19 year old girl. She knew to expect a few glances from men from time to time, and a boy of the same age that she spent so much time with was no expectation. She couldn't say she didn't return the favour sometimes. Ezra hadn't only grown upwards but filled out. His clothes no longer hung about him a size too big, his orange outfit seemed to fit rather well around what she knew was quite a well-toned physique; his arms made it most obvious, the obvious outlines of biceps clear through the orange suit. She knew she was attractive, though she wasn't the sort to be smug about it, and it was easy for her to recognise that Ezra was too.

She was too lost in thought to realise she'd been staring quite blankly in Ezra's direction for a bit too long. She snapped out of her trance to see him smile quizzically at her, furrowing his brow trying to figure out what she was doing. The smile soon became a laugh at her, one Sabine replied to with a firm glare that only seemed to encourage him.

"Everyone, may we speak", came the voice of her mother, echoing across all of the room. The bustling of conversations and laughs died down quite immediately, leaving her mother the chance to speak. "It's been many years since we have gathered here like this. To celebrate a hard-won victory over a strong opponent. Clan Wren has not had the easiest years recently, the Empire's rule had been hard on all of us. Now though, those times are over. We have broken their tyranny over all Mandalorians, and we will fight it should it ever return".

A loud series of cheers and shouts of agreement came from the Wren warriors. As their cheers of agreement subsided, it was her father's turn to address them. Standing up as well, Alrich Wren began to speak to his Clan, "I have been away for so long. I am glad to see you all here on my first night home. All of you had fought bravely and I am in debt to you all for your sacrifice. Many of our own died fighting the Empire, and we will hold their memories in honour for as long as Clan Wren endures." Another series of cheers rose up, coupled this time with applause. Her father paused, then she noticed him turn to her just briefly in the break. "To see my family together at last has made my captivity worthwhile. And my daughter has come home as well..." Sabine froze at the mention of her, she never really liked being the centre of attention. "I can speak for us all when I say we owe her our thanks, for leading us in our fight to rid Mandalore of the Imperials!". She could feel the eyes on her, and yet another series of applause only emphasised that.

She didn't flinch or cower, she's wasn't scared, but it was unusual to be the centre of attention here, of this crowd, a crowd that only a few months ago she thought she'd never see again. Her father continued his speech by thanking the warriors for their loyalty and continued on about this and that. As much as she loved her father, Sabine couldn't find herself paying attention. The events of the last few days, the meeting of so many old family members and the thought of just how much things had changed were too distracting and draining to keep her focus on other things. Before she knew it, her father had finished his speech and the tables erupted once more with chatter. A large group of warriors seemed to gather themselves and head outside, her brother included. _Of course, a Mandalorian event won't be complete without some good friends punching each other in the face._ She sat still in her seat, waiting for the event to wind down and allow to her rest. She then noticed, her two friends rise from their seats and walk over to her.

"They're right, you know", Kanan began as he approached, "If it wasn't for you, the Empire would still be in charge. Your father would still be in prison and all of the people here would be subjects of the Empire. We are very proud of you". Kanan smiled, she knew he meant it but she also knew he said it to tease her a bit. Kanan had tried when he first left her here, and he was going to say it.

Sabine smiled and stood up, pulling Kanan into a gentle hug. "Thank you, for everything. I meant it, Kanan". Sabine released him, and his hands moved to her shoulders.

"I hope this means we're getting you back on the Ghost, we've all been missing you". Kanan's comment earned a laugh from Sabine.

As Kanan's hands returned to his sides, Sabine laughed, "I doubt Chopper has, he's probably glad no one was there to spray paint him anymore,". Sabine looked at Ezra, his eyes told her he was still concerned. It took her a second to realise she hadn't answered Kanan's question. "Anyway, I was thinking... if you'd have me back I'd..."

Sabine's was cut off nearly immediately by Ezra, "Of course you can come back, it's not the same without you. Besides, I think the new base on Yavin is gonna need some of your work on its walls before we can call it home,". The thought had crossed her mind, of life on a new base, but like Zeb and Ezra she always preferred to be on or near the Ghost at all times. However, she was sure she'd like to explore all the old Yavin structures too.

"I'll have to let my family know I'm going away again, I'm sure they won't mind". She was secretly relieved she'd be going back to with them. She'd missed the Ghost. She'd missed Hera and Kanan, Zeb, Chopper and Rex too. And Ezra. Of all the people she'd missed in her time at home, it was Ezra she dwelled on most of all. She didn't know if it was the jokes they'd share, the way they just seemed to understand each other so well or something... _more._ Not a day went past where the young Jedi hasn't crossed her mind, and having his company again would be more than welcome.

Kanan placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder, "I'm going to contact Zeb, tell him we're here for the night then we'll be back tomorrow. I'm sure Hera will be glad to see us again. I'll probably turn in for the night, you coming?".

Sabine looked at Ezra, silently pleading with him to stay awhile. It seemed he got the message as he replied, "I'll come later, I'm gonna enjoy sitting around with a bunch of battle-hungry warriors for a bit longer". Kanan shook his head at Ezra's jokes, and Sabine answered the comment with a friendly punch to the arm.

"Alright, I'll be in the Gauntlet if you need me". Kanan turned and made his way out of the hall. It still amazed Sabine how naturally and easily he moved given his sight loss. From behind, it was almost as if he could see as well as anyone else. With his departure, she turned toward Ezra with a smile.

"Just us, huh? I don't fancy sitting around having a another twenty distant relatives talk about how great the battle was. Mind if we go somewhere else? Quieter?". Sabine was wanted to take a walk out one of the balconies, whichever was furthest from the crowd of Mandalorians not outside fighting to cheers and laughter.

Ezra smirked, "Oh? Miss me that much did you?", Ezra laughed and got another, slightly harder punch from the Mandalorian. He wasn't usually that forward with his flirting, and Sabine wasn't sure it was a bad change.

"You wish, Bridger", she replied back, giving him a wink as the two turned towards a door on the side of the hall. She had missed him. A lot. More than perhaps she should have as a friend. More perhaps? Her and Ezra's relationship has been close for a long time, but even so the feeling of having him back was a lot better than she knew it probably should be. _You don't love him, do you? No, love's too strong a word, not straight away, not like that anyway. "Like" him? That made her feel like a child in a playground._ Sabine shook the thoughts from her head as they proceeded out into a corridor. She lead him down towards the third door on the right of the hallway and went through it onto a small but sheltered balcony overlooking the lake.

The two stood on the edge of the railing, leaning forward. A few seconds of silence hung between them. It wasn't that they had nothing to say, just neither knew where to start. To her surprise, it was Ezra who piped up.

"It's good to see you again. It's been really weird not having you around. We're a team, it's not right having you halfway across the galaxy with other people."

Sabine looked over to him, "Other people? They're my family. You guys are too yeah, but I wasn't exactly in danger."

"Well I sure have been, thanks for asking. You know I had to sneak into Thrawn's office? And fly a Y-Wing through a nebula?". Ezra seemed happy about both of those, proud even. Sabine realised that, whilst they had been on Mandalore for a few days, they hadn't really caught up or had a real conversation that whole time.

"Really? Don't tell me you got caught or something?", Sabine was genuinely interested in what she'd missed, and of course it sounded like she'd missed a mission she'd have loved to have.

"No, nearly did. Trying to get Kallus out of Thrawn's reach and he ended up framing another guy. For all the good it did him in the end I guess. What about you? I haven't heard about your wonderful adventures?", Ezra was smiling still, shaking his head thinking about the mission.

Sabine looked back out over the lake. "I can't think I really did much. I spent all my time here planning and strategising with Rau and my mother and brother. Some sparring practice with Tristan, that was the most enjoyable part."

Ezra perked up and smirked at her, "Must have been good to train with someone else, it's not like you're able to beat me, right?". Ezra laughed, he did seem to enjoy poking fun at her quite a lot. She knew there was nothing mean behind it, and it was nice to have the back and forth every now and again.

"You mean it was good to fight someone who was actually a challenge". Sabine knew she wasn't being fully honest with that one. Hand-to-hand she could beat him with a bit of a struggle, and she was unquestionably the better marksman. Sword-fighting less so, to be honest she struggled to contend with him at the start and even their last fight was tough. He was better than her at that no doubt about it, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of admitting it. She turned to fully face the boy, _man_ , at her side.

Ezra saw this and did the same and they locked eyes again as they started laughing once more. As they stood facing each other, the laughing slowed leaving the two silent in the crisp air. As she stood gazing at him, she took in the boy she hadn't truly seen for weeks and have missed seeing every day. The black and slightly blue-shaded hair, the heartwarming smile, those beautiful blue eyes, those last ones were always obvious. As an artist, the deep blue had struck here as soon as she saw him. She kept looking at him, and in her head she realised how much she had missed him. He was her closest friend and the only person she felt confident sharing most things with. They'd saved each other's lives more than the other could count and she trusted him more than even she would let on. _Show him, Sabine. Show him._ Sabine tried pushing the thought away. She wasn't going to jump into his arms and claim she loved him. In truth, she wasn't sure she did yet. But there was something about him, something magnetic, something drawing her to him even before her time on Krownest, something that seemed to have grown exponentially with their time apart. _Absence makes the heart grow fonder,_ she thought to herself. He was staring back at her all this time. She couldn't tell what was going on behind those sapphire eyes, and for a moment she half feared his abilities might clue him in to what was going on behind her own. He'd always been respectful of her thoughts, not even trying to use the force to anticipate her moves in training. She didn't think he'd break that trust now. They couldn't just stand there staring in each other's eyes forever. She knew what she wanted to do, to show him she missed her without opening a whole new level of stuff that frankly she didn't want to deal with right now.

She closed the small gap between them and threw her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder and pulling him into a warm embrace. His arms settles around her waist almost immediately. _Almost as if he was prepared for this already._ The cold air of Krownest seemed to dissolve away as she took in the warmth of the hug. She'd hug Kanan and Hera, maybe even Zeb too, when she wanted them to know she appreciated them. This hug would have been the same too, if it had stopped after a second. She found herself simply not letting go, letting him hold her quietly on the balcony. After everything she'd been through in the last few weeks and days, that moment seemed to finally be the relief that she was looking for.

They stayed almost unmoved for a while, maybe a minute or more, before Ezra suddenly but gently tightened the embrace and leaned down to Sabine's ear. "I've missed you".

Sabine pulled in tighter, not wanting to let go. "I've missed you too," she admitted, her voice partially muffled by the shoulder she refused to let go of.

The deepened embrace lingered for a while longer before Ezra slowly let go, holding her arms below the shoulder and looking at the young Mandalorian. "It's late and cold out here, we should go get some sleep".

Sabine had half wanted to cling on to the hug even as Ezra pulled away, but she knew they couldn't stay there forever. However, she wasn't ready to let him go away for the night just yet. She thought for a moment again unsure of what to do. The moment the idea came to her, she knew he'd jump at the thought. "Do you mind if you stay a bit longer?", she asked, trying her best to not sound too clingy.

"It's cold here, we can't stay out here freezing all night", Ezra smiled as he looked at her. "Is there somewhere else we can go?".

Sabine knew her idea was going to work, of course it would, but she didn't want him to now how well she could understand him. "I was thinking we could go to my room, I still feel like we've barely talked since we've seen each other. We can catch up, have a caf maybe, like we do back home on the Ghost."

Ezra seemed to have been taken aback by the idea. He'd obviously hung out with her in her quarters on the Ghost, but this was different. The Ghost was less private, less personal. Sure it was her room, but it wasn't her ship and she never had any issues with people coming in or out. Her and Ezra had spent many hours talking and catching up after mission sitting in her quarters. Here, it was different. More private, more personal. There wasn't even other chairs to use, the only place to sit would be the single large bed that dominated the room.

"Um, I... yeah. We can do that. If you want, I mean". Ezra's cheeks seemed to have reddened slightly at the mention. It wouldn't tak a genius to figure out the first thing that had popped into Ezra's head. Sabine didn't intend anything like that, now wasn't the time or place to start thinking of that. All she wanted was his company, to block out the world for only a few minutes or hours and spend it with someone she lov- _cared about_ so much.

Sabine took his hand in hers and led the Jedi back inside. She crossed the hall into another corridor and the up the stairs. They walked along until they reached a door with a colourful emblem of a Mandalorian warrior. Acknowledging her identiy, the door opened for her into a small room with a single bed and a handful of desks around the walls. There was one painting of the lake on a sunny morning hanging in the corner. A handful of artistic materials lay on various desks, as did a spare pistol, rifle, one of her vambraces and her beloved helmet.

Ezra let go of her hand and stood admiring her small quarters. "Thought there'd be more colour", he teased.

"I haven't exactly had much time to paint when I've been here. I've been so busy I've barely had time to spruce up the place. Doesn't matter now, I'll be in my room on the Ghost tomorrow night anyway." The thought made her smile, and Ezra seemed to enjoy the idea as well.

"You mentioned getting some caf? I'll go grab some, then I'll come back." Ezra turned to the door but looked back as he left, "Don't miss me too much". He was gone and the door had closed before she could reply.

 _Too late for that now._ She sighed to herself and begun tidying some of the things in her room. It'd be nice to make it look a bit nicer for the evening. She thought of what to wear for the night. Underarmour trousers and a t-shirt seemed to be the best balance of comfort and warmth. _You could really drive him crazy_ she thought to herself. She was right, it'd be easy to ditch the trousers for some tight-fitting shorts, or the t-shirt for a more revealing workout top. _You could go even less..._ Sabine bit her lip ever so slightly. She could easily make this into a test run of just how attracted to her Ezra really was. She was pretty confident of the answer. However, she eventually settled on the original idea. _Not tonight. One night, maybe soon, but not tonight._

She ditched her armour and placed it into its storage box and switched out her underlayer for a loose-fitting t-shirt. She glanced at herself in the mirror, the underlayer trousers were remarkably form-fitting. _Okay, he'll get something to tease him, but not too much._ She was fairly pleased with herself as she threw herself down on the soft bed and waited for her friend to return.

A few minutes passed with Sabine staring at the darkening evening sky of her homeworld before the door chimed to signal Ezra had returned. She pulled herself up from the bed and tapped the door control to see the young Jedi standing with a smile, two steaming mugs in his hand.

As Sabine turned back to sit on her bed, Ezra followed, "Took you long enough", she joked, but he didn't reply. _You know why he's not saying anything, right Sabine? You've got mind wondering elsewhere_. She sat herself down at the top of her bed and turned to face him. As Ezra passed her the mug, Sabine leaned against the wall at the head of her bed and motioned Ezra to do the same next to her.

"So this is where Sabine Wren grew up, huh?", Ezra asked after a few moments.

Sabine took a sip of her drink and began to answere, "Mostly yeah. I had a bit more decoration growing up. Unsurprisingly, they got rid of a lot of it after... you know".

"Oh, I- Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up", Ezra fumbled his words, seemingly regretful of bringing up a topic he knew Sabine wasn't that fond of taking about.

Sabine gave a soft smile, "It's okay Ezra, it's in the past now.". She decided she wanted to move the topic onto something less serious. "So what do you think of my family? Not what you expected?".

Ezra laughed slightly before responding, "Yeah, I knew Mandalorians loved fighting and were all serious, but seeing it in a huge hall full of them was still weird. I must have heard a dozen stories about someone single-handedly fighting a whole pirate crew or killing an Imperial squad tonight".

Another smile covered Sabine's lips, "I can't tell if you think that's a good thing or a bad thing".

"It was good to hear them. Kinda impressive too". Ezra turned his face towards her with a sly grin, "You know you might not be the most impressive Mandalorian I've met anymore".

She jabbed at him with her elbow the way they always had. "You know you're still my least favourite Jedi, right?".

"You don't mean that", Ezra laughed, "I gotta be your favourite person on the Ghost by now, and obviously your favourite Jedi".

 _You might be more right than you know._ "Let's see; I like Kanan more, Hera, Zeb and Chopper too. Guess that proves you wrong again".

Ezra gave her a faked sad face and hung his head low. He raised it again a few seconds later to reply, "You wouldn't hug the others like you hugged me on the balcony".

 _What did he just say?_ Sabine was taken aback for a moment, not expecting him to so openly talk about the moment they'd shared. She couldn't think of how to reply, leaving her sitting silently as Ezra looked right at her. For a few painful seconds they sat quietly. Sabine didn't know if this was his way of starting to talk about... _things._ Feelings, whatever. As Sabine racked her brain for a reply she was interrupted with Ezra's laughing.

"Told you I was your favourite". Ezra leaned back again, taking another sip of his drink and looking quite pleased with himself.

Sabine couldn't think of a reply, she wasn't sure there was one. Moving the conversation on seemed to be the best way to avoid opening up things she wasn't ready to deal with yet. She thought for a moment, then decided she'd try and get him to open up about everything that had happened. With the base on Atollon, his encounter with Maul and all the fighting they'd just been a part of, Sabine hadn't had a chance to see how he was really feeling.

"How are you feeling, Ezra? Honestly. Between what happened on Atollon and losing Sato and so many others and whatever happened with Maul, you've been through a lot". Sabine put her caf onto the stand by her bedside, and turned her body of its side to face Ezra.

Ezra seemed to stop and process what she'd asked, his face grew more serious and the smile that had been there before faded. He too placed his drink aside, but stopped short of turning to face her, preferring to stare ahead to the wall.

"We lost so much, so many people. We worked so hard to get there and in one day the Empire took it all away. We lost Sato and that carrier and so many ships and pilot and-", Ezra had gotten visibly frustrated as he went on but stopped himself before going to far. "I just don't know how we'll recover. I guess I might feel better after seeing what state everything is in on Yavin, but until then, I don't know..."

Sabine looked him up and down, it was odd to see him so visibly sad, nowadays anyway. "I'm sorry Ezra, there's nothing you could have done to stop it. We all knew it could happen, all of Phoenix Cell did". Even to her, it didn't make it easier, but she couldn't just sit there and let him walllow in sadness.

"I know I know. I just wish we had more to show for it. Some victory to pull from all that loss".

"What about Maul? I thought you said he was gone?", Sabine admittedly didn't know much beyond that and was quite interested to know what had happened to the red-skinned warrior.

The question seemed to have the opposite effect, Ezra seemed to grit his teeth slightly and she could swear she saw his fists clench slightly.

"He used me. He used me to get what he wanted and he nearly got it. He found Master Kenobi and tried to kill him and he only found him because of me. I should have listened to Hera. I shouldn't have gotten involved. Maul should have just wandered that desert and died alone!". Ezra seemed to keep his rising anger at Maul.

"Ezra, it's okay. He's gone, I'm sorry for upsetting you", Sabine reached out a hand to Ezra's arm to comfort. She didn't know if the words or the contact soothed him, but he seemed to relax and sigh. He scooted his body down and faced her, mirroring the position the Mandalorian girl has taken minutes earlier.

"You don't need to say sorry. He's gone, he's dead. We'll never see him again and I couldn't be happier for it". The young Jedi seemed to let go of his anger in a short moment. "How about you? Your family and Mandalore and everything? You coping okay?". Ezra seemed happy to stop talking about his situation and move on to helping Sabine.

She didn't know what to say. It hadn't been easy for her, to go from a kill-on-sight exile to a revered hero and family member in a matter of months was a lot to cope with. Sure, she loved having them back, but the memories of what they did were still fresh in her mind. She'd mostly forgiven them for everything, but part of her was still hurt, maybe it always would be. As Sabine was organising her thoughts, Ezra kept his blue eyes locked on hers, giving her his full care and attention.

"I can't lie, it's been hard. It still hurts when I remember what happened between us. I can't shake the memory of them trying to shoot us down as soon as I told them who I was when we came back a few months ago". Sabine sighed and Ezra reached his hand out to rest on top of her shoulder.

"You've come a long way in a short time. You know you can be proud of what you've done, no matter what happened in the past". Ezra's response came across gently and quietly, but she felt the sincerity.

"It was great to see father again. We always understood each other more than anyone else could growing up". Sabine's memories of her childhood came flooding back to her, warming her heart and pulling the corners of her mouth upwards. Then the context of their reunion came crashing down. "And I got him imprisoned. Because of me, he was taken from home, kept in jail and treated horribly". She could feel her emotions bubbling to the surface; anger, sadness, regret, guilt and heartbreak all at once.

Ezra wasted no time in intervening, "You can't blame yourself for what the Empire has done. You saved him, you got him home and made sure the Empire wouldn't think of doing that to your family again".

Fighting back any desire to cry or lose control of her feelings, Sabine took a deep breath in and out to calm herself."You're right. All that matters is that the family is together again. Well, one family. I know I'm happy to be back here and everything, but I can't wait to go home to the Ghost. It's been too long since we've been a family together". Sabine's voice showed genuine happiness as she said it, she couldn't wait to see everyone again.

Seeing Sabine smile as she thought of returning brought Ezra's spirits up too. He dropped his hand from Sabine's shoulder, thinking that the comfort wasn't really needed. He pushed himself up slightly, supporting his head on his right arm and leaving his left in the space between them. He looked down at her from his new position, and the two's eyes met again. Sabine didn't hesitate this time. She pulled her body over to his, wrapping her right arm around his body and squeezing herself gently against him. He seemed almost surprsied at the move, but soon found himself leaning back and moving his right arm to curl under Sabine's head and pull her closer. Her head ended up resting on his chest, her arm across his chest, and his arm wrapping around to let him place a soothing hand on her shoulder from behind.

"Thank you. For everything. I mean it Ezra", Sabine said as she pressed her head into his chest. "I couldn't have done this without you. Without Kanan yes too, but not without you either".

Ezra tightened the hug for a moment and gently rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. "You don't owe us anything. We're friends, we stick together no matter what. You'd do the same for me. You've risked yourself way too many times for me. I.. I don't tell you how much it means to have someone like you have their back".

Sabine lifted her head to look into his eyes which, too her surprise, were already looking directly down at her in waiting. "I'm always going to have your back, no matter what". Her heart fluttered with a million emotions as a wave of emotion hit her. Ezra had come to mean so much to her, maybe more than anyone else she'd ever known, and when she promised to have his back she knew she truly meant it.

Ezra used his left hand to cup her cheek, resting his hand ever so gently on her face. "I mean it to. I'm never going to let you down. We're a team. I'll never let anything happen to you, and I'll never let you face it alone".

Sabine broke away from their gaze to place her head back on his chest. Both teens focused on the embrace, appreciating the closeness and care they both felt from the hug. She hadn't really expected it to end up like this when she invited him to her quarters, but now she wouldn't have it any other way. Every second of the hug was telling her something she knew had been true for a while: _You love him. You love him and you know he loves you too._ Her feelings to him had been beyond friendship for some time, but it was the first time she had openly admitted to herself how she felt about him. She could see it was getting late by looking out of the window, but she couldn't bear to let him go after this.

"Stay with me", she told him. "It's late, it's cold and I just... I just want...", she wasn't sure how to say it. She didn't want to blurt it out to him how much she cared, she wanted to do that some other time, when she could have a while to think over what to say and how to say it. But she didn't mind showing him in other ways and that's all she wanted for now. She was still puzzling out what she wanted for herself as she thought of how to ask him to stay.

Ezra didn't give her enough time to finish thinking of what to say. With a bit of hesitation, he replied, "Uh, I can go back to the ship, it's no problem. I can let you sleep in peace."

 _Say something._ _Say something._ "I want to have you here with me, I don't want to have to spend another night like this alone".

The answer seemed to make Ezra smile to her and he slightly sat up and lessened the hug. "Well, where in here will I sleep and what am I meant to wear?".

 _You know the first answer already, you're just too nervous to assume, Ezra Bridger._ Sabine gave a smirk to the young Jedi, "We can't keep each other warm if you're sleeping on the floor. Don't tell me you're too cowardly to stay in the same bed a girl? And, I don't know, what to you usually wear?"

Ezra looked at her as if he was about to question her, but she knew he wouldn't pass on the opportunity. "Okay, I.. I can do that. Uh, usually... umm... boxers?".

 _Hmm, she wasn't sure if she was fully against him sticking to that choice tonight... No. No Sabine. One night, maybe soon you can be like that. Not tonight._

"I gotta spoil your fun this time, Ezra. Ditch your jacket and belt but you're keeping your pants on", she laughed.

Ezra smiled to her and stood up, placing his utility belt on the floor and removing his jacket. It was a bit too dark to see much, but Sabine could easily see the traces of firm toned muscle across his chest and stomach. _Okay, now you're showing off..._

Sabine was happy to sleep as she was, and moved herself from her current position to take the blanket out from under her and wrap herself under the sheet. Ezra hesitated briefly before climbing in beside her. He lay on his back and extended his right arm toward Sabine, instinctively aware of how she meant to spend the night. Sabine scooted over and resumed their previous position, resting her hand and head on his now bare chest. The arrangement felt perfect and comfortable, as if they were both meant to be in that position together. Sabine closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep. As she drifted off, she mumbled out a few final words for the night:

"Night, Ezra".

With a smile and a small squeeze of the Mandalorian girl, Ezra's gentle voice answered; "Night Sabine. Sleep tight".

* * *

Yeah, I haven't written in ages. I kinda feel I changed the tone a bit too radically over the chapter. From a more mature focus on Mandalorian culture to a bit of subtle emotion to some outright fluff. I enjoyed it though. I might do some more again if people seem to like it. Any feedback is great, love it or hate it I wouldn't mind knowing why.

Thanks for reading, or at least scrolling down to the bottom.

Regards - Lothcat1138


	2. 2: A Morning After On Krownest

**First things first, the amount of feedback and encouragement has been fantastic. I'm really glad people liked it and I'm looking forward to doing more of this in the future. Secondly, I decided that, rather than doing a series of unconnected stories, I'm going to continue with this storyline for a bit. I'm not sure how long I'll take it for, but for now and the foreseeable future I'm going to probably just continue where I leave off. Since I never planned to continue the story beyond the last chapter, I've been struggling to decide on a direction on how to take the story. I could try doing a whole new AU where these choices have a major impact and change the Season 4 timeline. I could do a slightly different version of Season 4 where Ezra and Sabine are openly together. Lastly, I could try to integrate the story as best I could going forward, trying to keep it in line with the show as much as I can.**

 **I think I've settled more on the latter, so however I continue in the future I will likely try to link in with what's going on in Season 4. This might ultimately be the best option because, without a major original story in mind or planned from this story's beginning, it becomes far easier to just work within the structure of the already existing Season 4 timeline. It really helps in telling me where I should be aiming and it gives me a clear point to start and end from in each Chapter. Again, since this wasn't originally planned to be a continuing series, I don't know how this will go but I'm enjoying the opportunity to stick with it if only for a while.**

 **Again, thanks to everyone who read Chapter 1 and who gave feedback, it really does brighten my day to hear people enjoyed :)**

 **This chapter comes from Ezra's perspective, as I wanted to do a little bit on Ezra instead. I can see myself alternating back and forth each time but I'm not sure yet. This picks up the morning after the previous chapter.**

* * *

Ezra's eyes opened slowly, sensitive to the light that flooded the room. The snow outside made even the earliest hours of dawn shine as brightly as noon in most places in the galaxy. His attention turned to the weight resting comfortably on his shoulder as he looked down to the purple-haired girl sleeping so peacefully next to him. Ezra tried to think if he'd ever slept in the same bed as anyone... ever. Aside from his parents' of course after a nightmare as a kid. _Nope, this is a first... hope it's not a last._ It then occurred to him when he'd last slept in a house. He'd spent pretty much every night of the last 3 years in the Ghost or camped out on a mission. Years before that he'd only slept on street corners or in storehouses the owners hadn't locked up quite tightly enough. This might have been the nicest place he'd ever spent a night - both the building and the company. A display on the table by the bedside told him it was 7:30am. He knew Kanan would want to leave sooner rather than later, he'd want to be back on Yavin with the others as soon as he could. His thoughts were interrupted by the stirring of the girl sleeping next to him. Her arm squeezed itself gently around his body as her head lifted slightly up to look out of the window.

"Good morning, you look... tired", the boy said with a hushed but happy tone.

Sabine dropped her head back down and nestled herself back up against Ezra, "Ugh, too soon", she muttered with an exhausted voice.

Ezra chuckled, "I thought you were a morning person?"

Sabine lazily shook her head, "Yeah, well I'm comfortable right now". She went quiet for a moment and then, with a sigh moved her arm and sat up. "Fine", she glanced over at the clock, "Kanan will want us out of here soon anyway".

Ezra sat up as well, sighing himself as he did so. The thought suddenly dawned on Ezra in regards to his master, "Ah, uh, did we tell Kanan where I was last night?"

"I'm sure he'll figure it out", the girl's voice was quickly shaking off the distinctive sound of fatigue and starting to resume its normal tone.

Ezra's hand reached up to the back of his neck, a dead giveaway of awkwardness of nervousness. "You don't think he'll find it, you know, weird? Do you?".

"I doubt it. With the amount of nights him and Hera share together without anyone saying a word, I'm sure he won't ask questions".

Sabine shuffled to the edge of the bed and stood up, stretching out her weary body and giving Ezra a clear eye-level view of - _Ezra don't be weird, you're not like that... most of the time._ His thoughts were cut short by the sound of Sabine clearing her throat.

"Ahem. Ezra?". Sabine had turned around and was looking right at him. _She saw you Ezra, good one. Now it's weird._

Ezra's cheeks flushed red and his hand once more returned to his neck, "Sorry, I zoned out...".

"Ahuh", the Mandalorian girl cut him off, a smirk briefly appearing on her face. "We should get ready, we're going to have to say goodbye to everyone before we go", she said, moving the topic away from the awkward moment.

 _Thank you._ "Right.. uh, yeah. We should get up". Ezra stood up and stretched himself, reaching down to pick up his jacket and belt from the floor. As he stood unfolding the crumpled jacket he noticed Sabine's amused expression eyeing him from across the room.

As he noticed her, Sabine let out a chuckle of her own. "Just returning the favour", the girl winked at him and smiled again,"now hurry up I need to change too".

 _And there's the teasing again._ Ezra closed up his jacket and fastened his belt, patting his lightsaber out of habit. "You sure you don't want me to stay?", it was his turn to wink and play flirt.

"You've got to earn that right first", Sabine smiled teasingly back at him.

Ezra's confidence seemed to have come back and he took a step towards her. "Did I not earn that last night?", he asked.

The pink haired girl took a step towards him, putting barely a few inches between them. Her hands reached out and placed themselves on his shoulders as she leaned her face in closer to his. _This is definitely more than teasing..._

"Eh, not quite", Ezra came crashing down from his trance as Sabine turned him around and gently pushed him to the door. Sabine was laughing and grinning, staring at the awestruck boy. "Go on, go see what's happening with Kanan. I'll catch up later".

Ezra was almost frozen for a second, not sure how to react to everything. He shook the confusion from his head and turned tapping on the door control to leave. "See you later. Don't be long", he called over his shoulder as the door hissed shut behind him.

 _Karabast! You didn't tell her, you idiot. Maybe she knows, right? She's gotta know. She's not just laying on the flirting to make up for weeks of separation, is she? Were we always like this?_ The thoughts flooded Ezra's head like a dam had burst the moment he stepped outside, as if he hadn't truly processed anything about what had happened last night or in the few minutes so far this morning that he'd been awake. _No, we weren't always so open or so direct about... anything. Something's changed. Maybe everything's changed._

As Ezra walked away from Sabine's door, he turned a corner and nearly barged right into a familiar blue-armoured friend, "Good morning, Bridger", came the greeting from Fenn Rau, "No bruises or cuts? None of the warriors managed to draw you into a spar I see." Rau seemed to be in good spirits, Ezra noticed. He struggled to think of a time when Rau hadn't been some level of serious in the time he'd known him. The events of the last few days seemed to have at least relaxed him a bit.

"Maybe I didn't let them", a half-cocky smile briefly appearing on his face.

Rau smiled at the answer, "I doubt that. You're good, but not that good". Ezra noticed Rau's expression change slightly to one of questioning as a new question formed in the Mandalorian's mind. "Why are you walking around here? The only things in this part of the building are the Wren's private rooms and the Strategic Command Centre."

 _Another Karabast._ "Uh.. maybe I was here the same reason you're here?", Ezra instantly regretted his answer, but it was too late to take it back.

"I doubt Countess Ursa and Count Alrich wanted to discuss Mandalorian burials for the fallen with you", Fenn Rau seemed to smile slightly. "What you and Miss Wren get up to is your business as far as I'm concerned, but her parents might not be so forgiving."

Ezra could feel his cheeks warming before Rau had even finished talking. "Hey, we weren't... it's not... ugh", Ezra let out a sigh. "It's not what it looks like, we were just talking".

Rau laughed at the Jedi's fumbled reply. "Yes, Bridger, I'm sure.", he patted his shoulder as he walked on past him. "Oh, I think Kanan is awake, he's in your ship".

Rau turned the corner and was gone before Ezra had overcome his embarrassment enough to reply, "Thanks, have fun, I guess?" Ezra continued on his way towards his ship. The corridor opened into the Main Hall. Enough people crowded the place to allow him to slip inside unnoticed. The Wren Clan were outfitted in their armour and weapons, not that he'd expect anything less. A few different groups gathered into friendly conversations whose topic was indiscernible as Ezra navigated the scene. A number of people say at tables in the Hall, eating what must have been breakfast. _Food, you always forget food. Ugh, after Kanan._

Ezra found his way to the doors of the building, stepping out into the chilling air and fresh snow of Krownest. Looking out over the iced over lake as the sun hovered to early in its cycle, Ezra knew exactly why Sabine had chosen this scene above any other as her only project during the last few weeks. The Jedi walked up the slight hill just outside the Wren House towards where his ship had landed. It's deep red streaks and dark black tones making it stand out from the white-washed environment. It was easy to forget that only a few months ago Maul had called this ship his own, but now the only physical reminder was the eerily similar patterns the ship shared with its old master. Despite its past, Ezra had quickly come to like the ship. Having the knowledge that he could fly anywhere at anytime in a well-armed and well-built fighter was more freeing that anything he'd had before. It wasn't like he wanted to leave or anything, plus the Ghost provided those freedoms to an extent, but the bottom line was that the Gauntlet was _his_ ship. Not Hera's, not the Rebellion's. His.

Ezra stepped up the ramp of the ship into the main hold, seeing Kanan sitting at the controls through the open cockpit door. Chopper as well was on board, chirping annoyingly at Ezra as he stepped on board. "Morning Kanan, you too Chop". The snarky astromech droid beeped in response and continued with whatever technical task he was doing.

"Good morning, you sleep well?", Kanan asked in a warm, upbeat voice.

Ezra sat down in the chair beside his Master, pausing only briefly before answering the question, "Yeah. One of the best I've had in a long time. You?"

"Mostly good, it's nice going to bed feeling like you've won something for a change." The blind Jedi leaned back into his chair, his head looking out the large front viewport. _You'd think he was taking in the scenery._ "On the other hand, it did seem rather quiet. I wonder why."

As much as Ezra enjoyed his Master's laid back attitude and his ability to bring up any topic with a bit of humour, he wasn't all that keen on telling Kanan _everything_ about last night.

"Yeah, about that", Ezra's hand again found its familiar place behind his head, "Sabine and I were talking for ages, we just kinda drifted off."

Kanan's expression didn't change, "I knew you were with Sabine, I was more concerned about if you were okay. You may have helped liberate Mandalore but Jedi-Mandalorian relations aren't something you can fix in one battle. There's plenty of Mandalorians who have lost many ancestors to Jedi, and more than a few might want to take some revenge."

Ezra was surprised at the angle Kanan was taking, "But they're Sabine's family, they wouldn't hurt us."

Kanan's had turned to his young apprentice as his familiar "lecture" voice continued, "Not all of them. There's other clans here other than Wren. Besides, it's a large clan, not everyone in Sabine's brother or mother. I'm not saying not to trust them, I'm just saying you need to keep yourself safe and keep your wits about you. That includes telling me where you are, okay?" Kanan sighed out, signifying that the lecture was over.

 _He's right. He's always right, most of the time anyway._ "Yes, Kanan. Sorry, Kanan." Ezra hung his head, more a mark of respect that meekness of sadness. He was getting better at being wrong and admitting it, a direct result of Kanan's teachings.

Kanan placed a reassuring hand on Ezra's back, "It's okay. Just think next time", another smile appeared on the Jedi's face, "At least they didn't all try killing us. After our history, I think this is progress kid."

Ezra laughed, a welcome change in the conversation. "Yeah, at least these guys ask to beat us up before they would actually do it."

Kanan chuckled once again, "Not much to boast about. A blind guy and a teenager don't seem like achievements for a Mandalorian."

Ezra sat up and turned to Kanan, a look of mocked offense on his face, "Speak for yourself, I'd handle myself in a fight.", Ezra jokingly boasted.

"I'm sure you'd hold your own... for a while. These Mandalorians don't give up easy, anc they wouldn't want to get beaten by a Jedi infront of their family."

"It'd still be fun though." Ezra smiled to himself as he thought about that situation, "It doesn't matter though, Sabine would probably kill me for hurting any of her family members, even if it was all for fun.

"I'd like to see how long you'd last in that one, you'd be on the ground before you had your lightsaber out." Kanan had become increasingly fond of jokes like this, and Ezra didn't mind. A bit of unmeant insults between good friends was always common, and Kanan's natural sense of humour always made it enjoyable.

"Hey, you've seen the two of us train, we're equal or I'm better, there's no in between," _That's a lie and you know it._

"Sure, if she still had the Saber. The moment she starts throwing rockets and repulsor blasts at you you'll be sprawled on the floor... _again._ "

Ezra decided to turn the exchange onto his Master, "I'd like to see how you'd do against her, she beat you last time didn't she?"

"Huh," Kanan seemed to think to himself, "I guess she did. I suppose I'm not the deadliest of opponents these days."

 _Uh oh, not what I wanted to happen._ "Kanan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Relax, Ezra. I'm only kidding", Kanan cut him off, from his voice Ezra could tell he wasn't hurt.

Kanan occasionally made a joke out of his situation, the crew thought it might be a way of him coming to terms with his blindness. As much as Ezra spent time with Kanan since Malachor, he still found it awkward to discuss the condition that deep down he still blamed himself for. _Stop it Ezra, he never blamed you. It was Maul's fault and now Maul is dead._

"Anyway," Kanan interrupted his thoughts as he stood up, "We should go see what's going on with us getting out of here. As nice as this place is, we've got other places to be."

Ezra copied his Master's actions and both walked out of the cockpit, heading out of the ship and towards the Wrens' house. _At least he didn't pry._ Ezra wasn't really sure what to tell him anyway. He didn't feel he was ready to tell anyone how much he really cared about Sabine, or just how much he missed her. Kanan must have noticed something of it over the last few weeks and months, but Ezra hoped the true extent of his emotions still might just be well hidden enough to avoid notice. Come to think of it, whilst Ezra knew full well of the Jedi's policy on attachments he struggled to recall Kanan ever mentioning it in any way more than in passing. _Of course, he couldn't lecture me on love when he's head over heels for Hera._ Love just wasn't something he'd talked about with Kanan yet, and he was lucky that he'd so narrowly avoided the topic this time.

 _You love her._ That was something Ezra had been pretty confident in admitting to himself for a while now, long before their time apart. What had begun as a childish crush had blossomed into an amazing friendship, but all the while part of Ezra still found his mind going blank when Sabine's eyes met his. He's find himself smiling at her unknowingly as he watched her do anything from painting to hacking a terminal. She's grown so much since he'd known her, and more than one aesthetic redesign of anything she could change with paint or dye. Still, Ezra found every incarnation of the Mandalorian to be more captivating and more beautiful. Even more important that the physical changes were the emotional ones. Over the years the two had become so much closer, opening up to each other in ways they hadn't for anyone else. Ezra remembered the brief glimpses of Sabine at her most vulnerable after a hard training session on Atollon. He remembered the many times where the stress of a mission had only been alleviated by the laugh or the company of his hazel-eyed companion.

 _And now, maybe she loves you too. Maybe, I mean last night has to have meant something?_ Ezra's mind drifted to the night before. Ezra had caught Sabine gazing at him throughout the event, and he was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see her all night. Their moment on the balcony, simply holding each other in a warm embrace had sent Ezra into an emotional freefall. It felt _right._ He hadn't felt so happy to be in one place with one person in a long time, maybe at all. And then in her room later on, as the two opened up about things they'd bottled up for so long. Ezra knew he trusted her even with the feelings he was too scared to tell Kanan about. And when she'd opened up to him, about her guilt and her anger at everything, he knew that more than anything he wanted to make her happy and overcome that pain in any way he could. As it turned out, that way was to be similar to the damn-perfect moment on the balcony. Having her lie so willingly in his arms, the gentle rhythm of her breath on his chest, the delicate trace of her fingers on his bare skin, the unique scent filling his senses and above all the caring, loving arms that so happily and perfectly found themselves around his body made for a moment Ezra wished had never ended. If he could have lived in that moment for the rest of his life, then he would have died the happiest man in the galaxy. _Maybe you'll get that chance, maybe she does love you too after all._

Ezra's mind calmed a bit as he returned his focus to the current situation. As the two Jedi walked in the snow, barely a dozen metres from the doors, Kanan stopped and lightly grabbed Ezra by the shoulder. He'd been quiet the whole walk down, and Ezra wondered if perhaps he'd been listening in to what his apprentice was thinking.

"Ezra..." Kanan sighed in a hushed voice, "You know we've still got something to talk about, right?"

Ezra knew exactly what his Master meant but decided to confirm his suspicions anyway, "What's this something?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Something I should have spoken to you about a long time ago."

Ezra took in a deep breath _I guess you're talking about this with him, I guess it's long overdue. "_ I know. I suppose we were gonna have to talk about it someday, why not now?" Ezra half-attempted to say the sentence as a joke, but he was far too nervous for it to come across that way.

Kanan shook his head, "Not here, not now. Soon though, as soon as possible even. We just don't have the time right now."

 _Oh thank the Force._ Ezra breathed out a sigh of relief, thoroughly glad that he could put if off for at least a few hours longer. Kanan looked at his apprentice's reaction, clearly he was relieved he'd avoided the discussion and Kanan didn't want to press the issue now. As his Master headed towards the building, Ezra followed in his wake.

By the time they'd returned to the main hall, many of those Ezra had seen on his way through had left. A handful of people stood here and there, but the only ones he recognised were the Wren family and Fenn Rau. Ursa stood at the foot of the steps to her throne and Alrich beside her. Rau and Tristan stood talking off to the side, but Ezra couldn't figure out what they were discussing. And of course, Sabine was stood talking to her parents. As Kanan and Ezra approached, Alrich noticed them and regarded them with a warm expression.

"Ah, Master Jedi.", his surprisingly gentle voice called, "I hope you've enjoyed your time here."

"It's been interesting, thank you Count Wren", Kana answered.

Alrich turned to face them a bit more, "Please, a friend of my daughter is a friend of mine. Call me Alrich".

The two Jedi stood themselves slightly behind Sabine, both being greeted with a warm and almost relieved smile from the young woman.

"Sabine tells me she is leaving with you. Returning to your 'Rebellion'", Ursa Wren's emotions were indiscernible behind her calm and authoritative voice.

"We're more than happy to have her back if she still wants to come", Kanan's answer earned another happy expression from Sabine.

The Countess' mask of non-emotion broke for only a second, but into a smile. "Yes, I believe she's made her choice already." Ursa stepped down in front of her daughter. It was easy to forget that, despite her fearsome reputation and Mandalorian heritage, she was still a mother. Sabine's mother at that. Even though he family might have abandoned her when she defected, the warm smile and almost sad eyes of the Countess made it clear that no matter what, Sabine was still her daughter. The two Mandalorian women stood face to face for a moment, before Sabine slung her hands lovingly around her mother's shoulders.

Ezra wasn't sure he'd ever seen affection expressed from any Mandalorian. _Well, to another Mandalorian anyway. You've_ definitely _seen some affection from one._ The two broke from the hug to look at each other.

"Mother, Father, I... Thank you. For taking me back, for letting me try to make things right. I'm sorry for... everything."

It was Alrich's turn to comfort his daughter, "You've got nothing to be sorry for. I took more strength than most could ever have to take a stand against the Empire. And now, because of you, all of Mandalore is free."

Sabine laughed slightly, "Maybe now we can do the same for the whole galaxy."

"Perhaps when you and your friends have freed us all, we can relax for a while. As a family." Ursa's words struck Sabine's heart. _Family._ Ezra was sure that hearing those words from her mother again must have made her beyond happy.

The young Jedi noticed a handful of tears on Sabine's cheek, not of sadness but of joy. She reached out again, taking each parent into an arm and holding them both. "I love you", came Sabine's muffled voice from between her parent's shoulders.

Alrich Wren smiled as the three shared their moment, "We love you too, Sabine."

Ezra couldn't stop himself smiling as he watched them. Sabine deserved to be happy, she deserved her family, and to see her getting that at last was amazing. Tristan had come to join them as the three broke apart, but Ezra became too lost in thought to listen to their private goodbyes. As happy as the moment had made him, he knew he wouldn't have that joy with his own parents. Even though he'd loved seeing Sabine reconnect with her own, at back of his mind Ezra was always conscious that she was having something he would never have for his own.

Kanan, seemingly sensing his apprentice's inner turmoil, placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. _I may not have my old family, but I have this one._ Choosing your family isn't a privilege most people got. Then again, the crew of The Ghost weren't 'most people'.

"Kanan, Ezra", it was Fenn Rau who'd come to speak to them, "I suppose this is goodbye for now."

Ezra had expected him to want to stay on Mandalore, his place was with his people. Still, Rau was a friend, even a part of their ever extending family in the Rebellion. "Try not to get yourself in too much trouble, Rau", Ezra jested.

"You just worry about yourself, Bridger. I know you can get into all sorts of trouble by yourself," Rau winked at him and laughed. _That was a joke about earlier, wasn't it? Damn you Rau, you better not have said anything._

The Wren family seemed to have been finishing with their goodbyes, and Ursa started to address the two Jedi. "On behalf of Clan Wren, House Viszla, we owe you a debt of gratitude Master Jedi, as do all of Mandalore. You played an important role in freeing our people, and maybe more importantly you've kept our daughter safe and returned her to us."

"Thank you, but I don't think any of that was us alone. A lot of people have helped along the way", Kanan was always the more humble one.

"Perhaps, but without you Sabine wouldn't be standing here today." Ursa approached the Jedi a bit closer, "I trust you to keep her safe in the future until she returns to us. As a Clan leader and a mother, thank you for looking after our own."

Ezra decided it might be time to speak up for the first time in this meeting, "You have our word," he smiled and nodded ot Sabine, "though I'm not sure she really needs much protecting".

Ezra's first attempt at humour around Ursa seemed to hit their mark, a quiet laugh coming from the women, "I suppose not, but your promise is appreciated, Ezra."

 _Did she just call me 'Ezra'? What happened to 'Bridger'? Wait, when has she really talked to me... ever?_

Sabine came up behind her mother, "Okay, I think we're all set."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do," asked Kanan, always concerned for Sabine's safety and happiness.

"I'm sure. The war is out there, and it's nowhere near over yet." Sabine said. _You've grown up, Sabine Wren._

Ezra clearly wasn't the only one impressed by her words. "I... I am so proud of you, Sabine", Ursa said, her voice showing another slight hint of motherly pride. "No matter what happens, you always have a home here. We'll always have your back."

Sabine gave her mother another hug before taking her place beside Ezra. She looked at him with an expression that was clearly overwhelming joy, and Ezra's smile showed her he wouldn't want her feeling anything less.

"I suppose we'll see you again soon," Alrich said, to Ezra and Kanan this time. "Surely we'll see you again, young Ezra."

 _What did he mean by that?_ Ezra panicked slightly, unsure what he was trying to imply. To his surprise, Sabine seemed to react slightly as well. _Please don't tell me they know, please don't tell me they think we're already... a thing. Dammit, you look like an idiot, say something._

"I, uh, I hope so.", Ezra laughed nervously, "Maybe I'll be a bit less embarrassing next time I see you", Ezra's awkward memory of his first meeting with Alrich flooded back, fumbling his words like a 5 year old child.

Alrich chuckled, "Maybe, when you come see us _with_ Sabine she can make a better introduction for you."

 _"With". Really?_ Apparently Sabine inherited her love of joking with him from her father as well. Kanan, Sabine and Ursa didn't seem to fully understand what was going on. Of course, he hadn't told them how he'd acted on the train, and he didn't really want to tell them in case of embarrassing himself further. It seemed Sabine's father had kept that little anecdote to himself as well.

There were a few more final goodbyes and thank yous between the two groups before Ezra, Kanan and Sabine began walking up to his ship. Sabine had grabbed a sack of things from her house, all her armour and weapons of course but a few personal effects. Some paint and applicators of course, a rolled up piece of canvas or two, and a small holo, no doubt of her newly united family. The three friends climbed on board with another relieved greeting from Chopper. _He misses Hera, maybe more than Kanan does._ Ezra sat himself in the pilot's seat, he'd be flying them home. Kanan offered a seat to Sabine, but she declined.

"Mind if I use one of the small cabin rooms, I've got some armour stuff to do", Sabine asked. Ezra knew 'doing her armour' was Sabine's codename for some time alone, to think over things. After everything she'd been through, she'd more than deserved a chance to process it.

"Sure", replied Kanan, "means I don't have to stand", he smiled as he sat down.

Sabine's eyes met Ezra's and lingered for a moment longer than they would on anyone else's. Ezra smiled, "Don't have too much fun back there", he joked.

Another grin covered Sabine's mouth as she turned away, "I'll try not to, Ezra".

A gentle hiss of a closing door told him that Sabine had retired to her own privacy, leaving Ezra and Kanan sitting peacefully in the cockpit.

Flicking several switches and dials, Ezra lifted the Gauntlet off the ground and sent in up into and out of the atmosphere. With the co-ordinates of Yavin 4 locked in, he took one more look at Krownest before the ship vanished in a steak of blue hyperspace light. With Chopper and the ship's auto-pilot controls, there wasn't anything to do except sit and wait for the journey to be over. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms as he stared out at the swirling mass of blue colour out the viewport. The two sat quietly for a few minutes, taking in the peace and quiet that they hadn't had much of since returning to help Sabine on Mandalore. It was Kanan who broke their silence.

"You did well, Ezra. I'm proud of you too."

Ezra smiled, "Thanks, but for what? I just did what I always do?"

"Not like that... not there." Kanan maintained his position 'looking' out the front window. "Jedi-Mandalorian relations have never been easy, everyone in there probably had ancestors killed by Jedi. It can't have been easy for them to work with us, but you made a good impression and I'm proud of you for it."

"Hey, you were good too. I mean, you're blind and you still showed the Empire who's boss." Ezra joked.

"Don't sell yourself short, kid", Kanan said with a gentle laugh, "I didn't do much this time, you can have this one."

Ezra smiled smugly but ironically, "I mean I was pretty good, jumping off that falling convoy without a jetpack. Rescuing Sabine's father. I was pretty good, wasn't I?"

Kanan now turned to Ezra, his mouth curved into a humoured grin, "Yeah, if I remember correctly Sabine had to save you that time. And I seem to remember hearing you flailing around like an idiot when I was jumping around stopping Imperials."

Ezra waved his hand dismissively and laughed his own, "Details. Details."

Kanan's smile seemed to change, not disappear but moved away from a humoured expression to something more genuine, "Jokes aside, Sabine really needed this. She needed to see she isn't some outcast without a home. She's a Mandalorian, one of the best, and she's got a family and a home she can always come back to."

 _Maybe she will end up with a bit more than that soon, if I have any say in it._ Ezra was happy for her too. Even without his ever-growing infatuation with Sabine, he was more than a good enough friend to wish nothing but the best for her. Ezra thought about what Kanan had said for a few seconds longer before opening his own mouth, "She does, I know. But she knows she's always had a home with us. A family."

"I never said she didn't, Ezra. But this is different, she did grow up with the them afterall, and she's only been on the Ghost for, what, 4 years? 5?," Kanan shook his head, "Gah, my memory is awful."

Ezra found himself laughing again, "You're getting old, Master."

"Hey, I'm not even 35 yet!" Kanan answered with a bit of frustration.

"That's old to me." Ezra remarked, thoroughly enjoying annoying Kanan.

Kanan sighed and shook his head, "I don't know what to do with you half the time." Then the Jedi returned to the topic at hand, "Still, it's given her a place to be and a place to go back to. Now she knows who and what she's fighting for back home as well as on the frontlines. It's helped her grow, as a leader, as a Mandalorian and as our Sabine."

 _Our Sabine? That's good, not quite perfect though. My Sabine? Huh, guess that's a little creepier actually. Great job Ezra._ "What do you think will happen now?"

"I don't know, I'm sure Fenn Rau and the others will find a new way to be a thorn in the Empire's side. As for us? We go back to doing what we do best."

 _Karabast, I've missed being an old-fashioned rebel._ Ezra had loved being on Mandalore for more than a few reasons, but he still found himself thinking about the wider war that was starting. He knew he was making a difference out there, but it felt so far removed from the fight he'd already been a part of. Maybe it was not having Hera and Zeb around, or maybe it was the fact he hadn't seen any non-Mandalorians bar Kanan for a few weeks. As much as he'd loved it, he was more than happy to return to the familiarity of the Rebellion. _Well, not so familiar._ New base, new faces, new tech probably. A feeling of sorrow washed over him as his mind recounted that last battle on Atollon for the thousandth time. Sato and so many others, so much of what he had worked so long to build had been destroyed in less than a day. Deep down he knew that fighting with the Rebellion could never feel the same again. The Empire wasn't a system of idiots united only by poor-quality armour. It was a military machine, with enough firepower to decimate even the best of what the Rebel Alliance could throw at them.

As much as they'd lost already, Ezra felt like he had more to lose everyday. Every new face was another potential casualty in the war. Every new moment with his friends only increased the pain he'd feel if he lost any of them.

 _I won't let that happen again. Not to Kanan or Hera or Zeb or Rex or Wedge or Hondo or anyone, and if they try to hurt Sabine I'll tear the Empire down myself. No, snap out of it Ezra!_

He knew better than to harbour dark thoughts like these. Anger and revenge weren't the ways of the Jedi, even Darth Vader knew that on Malachor. The holocron was gone, but that didn't mean Ezra didn't feel the pull or allure of the dark side. He always knew to resist it, and he'd become more comfortable asking Kanan for guidance. 'A natural part of being a Jedi' Kanan had told him, but that didn't make it much easier. When he was angry, on a roll in combat or simply found himself performing really well, he felt the noticeable enhancing of his abilities as he so briefly tapped into the dark side.

Possibly sensing his turmoil once again, Kanan spoke up, "Ezra? You okay?"

He didn't reply immediately, still pushing the dark thoughts out of his head, "Yeah, just... thinking about things."

Kanan sighed and adjusted his position in his seat, facing his body to Ezra. _He's getting comfortable, we've having a talk, aren't we? It's 'that' talk isn't it? Karabast.  
_  
"You remember what I told you earlier, about having a talk?", knowing full well his apprentice was probably dreading the thought.

"Yes, Master. I... I know attachments are something a Jedi shouldn't have. I'm sorry I haven't been open with you about it." Ezra hung his head, slightly ashamed that he had kept his feelings for Sabine so hidden from him.

Kanan seemed to become a little uncomfortable, but his faced showed a look of determination and acceptance of what had to be talked about. "It's my fault. I haven't discussed attachments and love and everything with you because...," Kanan seemed to be struggling to find the words to explain himself. "Because..."

"Because you love Hera." The words seemed strange to say out loud. The Ghost crew pretty much knew this already, even some outside it, but theirs was a relationship not often put into words. They all saw it, they all knew it, but not once had anyone asked them about it. Heck, Ezra couldn't think of a time when Kanan had even mentioned his attachment to Hera to him. Kanan must have known Ezra and the crew knew about it, but for whatever reason he'd never brought it up.

Kanan had been quiet for a while before he continued. "Yes. I do. I always found it difficult to raise the topic with you."

"You aren't... ashamed... are you, Kanan?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I... I'd never regret what I have with her. I do love her, Ezra. But, it was never the love that was the problem. The reason the Jedi banned attachment wasn't because of the attachment itself, but the emotions that came with it. Anger, jealousy and fear are the easiest paths to the dark side and often they're an ugly part of many relationships."

 _Okay, this is new._ All of it was new territory for the two Jedi and he'd never ever imagined he'd hear Kanan talk about Hera in that way. Sure, he knew that was how Kanan probably felt, but it was something he'd never thought he'd hear put to words.

Ezra understood what his Master was trying to say, "So the Jedi believed that love would always lead to the dark side?"

"You're not that far off, it's something like that."

Shaking his head, Ezra replied, "They're wrong! I mean, you're haven't fallen to the dark side, right?"

A slight laugh came from the older Jedi, "Not that I'm aware of, no." The brief break for laughter ended almost as soon as it began, "But I'd agree with you. I do think they were wrong. You said yourself that Master Yoda had issues with the Jedi by the time of the Clone Wars. In my eyes, they were wrong about this."

 _Is Kanan really saying the Jedi are wrong?_ "Woah woah woah, wait. You're saying you don't agree with the Jedi Code? I thought you were a Jedi?"

"We're not normal Jedi. A lot has changed, it's a different galaxy. Whatever the Jedi Order was still couldn't prevent the rise of the Empire. Maybe it's time for some changes."

It was strange to see him so openly critiquing the Jedi. Throughout his training, he had been taught the Jedi Code as some divine truth not to be questioned. Now, it was clear Kanan was not the model textbook Jedi Ezra thought he wanted to be. Of course, he knew his Master was breaking the Code with Hera, but now he realised that Kanan didn't see it as his failing, but the failing of rules the Jedi set up centuries ago. Looking at it now, Ezra had to agree. Despite what the Jedi Code said, Hera and Kanan's relationship wasn't a source of the dark side or of evil; it was _beautiful_ in a way. He'd seen it keep both of them safe, it calmed them and brought them happiness and it was a key part of what had helped keep the crew of The Ghost together. Whatever slim chance of evil that love might bring, surely the joy that Kanan and Hera had together outweighed all of it.

"So you don't think it's a bad thing? You think Jedi should be allowed to have their attachments?" Ezra had been unprepared for Kanan to be so openly opposed to the doctrine, but he had to say he agreed with him wholeheartedly.

Kanan sighed, "It's not without danger, Ezra. Those feelings do exist and the Jedi didn't take those steps without reasons. Many Jedi have fallen because of their emotions for someone else." He seemed to be reaching his main point of the whole discussion. "I do believe that Jedi can be trusted to have attachments, to fall in love. However, we've got to work twice as hard to control those emotions. Hera and I keep each other close, but we do our best to keep our emotions under control. We work out our arguments, we're open about our feelings and we make sure anything that comes up we work through together. It's the only way it can work. You have to trust the other person, but above all you have to trust yourself to control your emotions and keep the dark side at bay."

The two sat for a moment, taking in the effects of what had been said. _Trust the other person. Trust yourself_. _Control your emotions._ The three key instructions played repeatedly in Ezra's mind. _I can try to do that. No, I will do that. Do or do not, there is no try._

"I think I understand, Kanan. I think I agree with you." Ezra smiled at his Master. The talk had been a lot less painful that he'd thought, and he was surprised at how supportive Kanan seemed to be.

The Jedi Knight seemed to sense the smile and returned the gesture to his apprentice, "Thank you for hearing me out. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm still a Jedi, I still think the teachings are mostly good, but that doesn't mean I think they're perfect."

Exhaling in relief for a moment, Ezra stretched and began to relax himself, "Well, that was interesting."

His Master, however, wasn't quite ready to stop, "We're not done, Ezra. You know we still have something to talk about." _Karabast, I'd hoped he'd leave it for now._ "You know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"

 _Of course I do and you know what I'm going to say, don't you?_

Breathing in heavily, Ezra prepared himself. _Here we go, it was going to happen some time._ "Yes, Kanan. I love her, I have for a while. I had a crush on her for a long time but it just became _more._ When she stayed on Krownest, I felt lost. I didn't know what to do, I missed her. I missed her more than I thought I'd miss anyone. Now that she's back, something's changed. She's on my mind even more than before and that's saying something. Something about her has changed too. Last night, when we were alone, I could swear she felt the same. The way she spoke, the way she acted, the way she looked at me, I just don't know what to do."

"I'm assuming you haven't told her how you feel?"

His hand scratched his neck nervously, "Not exactly. I wanted to tell her, I wanted to let her know how much she meant to me and how much I loved her and how happy she made me but I was too nervous."

"You said you think she feels the same way?" his voice taking on a fatherly touch.

"She hugged me. A lot." Ezra smiled to himself, fondly recollecting those memories in particular, "She said she didn't want be alone and she just... fell asleep in my arms, like she wanted to be there more than anywhere else. Then there were the times we'd just get so quiet, and the way she looked at me was like she wanted to tell me something but couldn't find a way to do it. I don't know if I'm just seeing what I want to see, but I felt something."

A few moments passed as Kanan listened to his apprentice's issues. "I'm going to give you some advice. Not as a Jedi or as your teacher but as your friend. It's rarely what we do in life that we regret as much as it's what we miss out on. If you let something as precious as love fall through you fingers you might never live that chance down."

 _Was he just saying to go for it?_ "You're saying I should tell her then?", Ezra asked.

"In your own time, when it's right. It's up to the two of you how you handle it from there, not me. All I can say it that you need to be mindful of your feelings and you can't let your jealousy or your fear control you."

The young Jedi was smiling up at Kanan, his heart warmed by the reassuring advice he'd given. Ezra took a few seconds to relax his body and clear his mind, " Thanks, Kanan. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"It's okay, I'm sorry for not talking about this with you beforehand." Kanan seemed to relax a bit as well, "As long as you don't skip Jedi training to walk her in the sunset or you know... 'mess around', I'm sure it'll be fine."

 _Mess around? Jeez, Kanan who do you think we are? We're not like that-_ Ezra reminded himself of their flirts and jokes last night and earlier in the morning, they'd defenitely hinted something to each other. Ezra wondered if the humour and the teases hinted at more carnal intentions between the two teens. _Well, we may be a bit like that. Wait, you'd better answer him Ezra, don't make it awkward._ "Mess around, really Kanan?"

Kanan didn't seem phased, "What? You're 17, she's 19. It's only nat-"

"Kanan, stop it."

He didn't stop. "You can't pretend it's not a thing. Hera's gonna end up having a word if you two are together, she won't want little babies runn-"

"Okay, Kanan!", Ezra tried to wiggle himself out of the sinkhole, "We wouldn't on The Ghost anyway, everyone's so close and it's so quiet."

Kanan gave a sly grin, "You'd be surprised."

 _Okay... end of the line. Not going there._ "Kanan! Drop it!", Ezra was clearly getting more uncomfortable every second and Kanan began laughing loudly at his young apprentice.

"Relax, Ezra, I'm only kidding." _Not all of that was kidding, was it? That's really not something I needed to know._

The cockpit door suddenly swished open and both Jedi immediately turned to see Sabine looking quizzically at them both. _She heard. Oh no she heard. No no no no no..._

"Uh, what are you guys making so much noise over up here", Sabine asked. _She didn't hear. That could have been awkward._

Kanan wasted no time with a witty reply, "Just making Ezra uncomfortable."

Sabine laughed, "Next time let me know sooner, any excuse is a good excuse to annoy you." Sabine looked at him with a devilish grin, clearly noticing the flushed cheeks of the teenage boy.

Ezra let out a sigh, the butt of this round of jokes. He looked at the two people in the cockpit, probably his two favourite people in the galaxy right now, and he couldn't help but smile at the two of them. _I love you guys._

"It's good to have you back," Ezra told Sabine.

Sabine met his eyes for a few brief seconds as she replied, "There's nowhere I'd rather be".

Kanan stood up and broke the heartfelt moment as he did so. "I'm going to the refresher, I won't be long. Don't get up to too much trouble, you two."

As Kanan left, Sabine sat down in his former seat and took in the view of hyperspace. It only took her a few seconds to start talking to him, "What were you two talking about?"

 _You could tell her, make a joke about it, see if she reacts. No, no you'd make it awkward._ "It was nothing," He said finally.

Sabine sighed in mock frustration, "Really? Nothing? Got a secret I can't know?"

Ezra smiled at her, "No, just Jedi stuff. Talking about the Force, all that boring stuff. And everything that's happened, and you of course." Knowing full well she hated being the centre of attention, it was one way to get her back for his earlier embarrassment.

It worked and Sabine showed a bit of friendly agitation, "You'd better had been saying good things."

"Only good things to say about you," he replied. _Nice. I gotta admit that was a good one._

Sabine seemed to think so too, looking away briefly with a warm smile, "You're sweet sometimes, you know that?"

Ezra leaned over, "Only sometimes?"

Meeting his own eyes once again, Sabine leaned over slightly, bringing her head even closer to his, "Okay, a lot of the time."

The space between the two seats was barely a foot or two, but they'd closed the distance between each other to a few inches. For the second time that day, their faces were close enough to feel the warm breath from each other's mouths. Both eyes seemed to scan the others as the two sat unmoved. _She's beautiful, you're way out of your league._ The two kept their eyes locked for a few more moments before Ezra felt a weight rest on his hand; Sabine's own of course. Her fingers entwined themselves gently between his own. Ezra could barely think straight about what to do. _Should I try and kiss her? Was it too early for that? Are you sure you're not just massively misreading her signals or something?_

The solution presented itself in the form of a hissing door and Kanan standing within it. "Am I interrupting something?"

Both teens quickly leaned away from each other and released their hands. Ezra could see the knowing smirk on Kanan's face.

Sabine cleared her throat and stood up, "Yeah, I should get back to my armour. Let me know when we're coming in to land." As she made her way out the cockpit, Ezra felt her ever so briefly brush her hand on his. _Totally not an accident._ As she exited the cockpit, Sabine's eyes met Ezra's once more, his lips forming another smile to match hers as the door closed.

"Thanks, Kanan." Ezra said, frustrated at having his moment cut short.

"Hey, I didn't know. I would have waited outside if I did." Kanan answered.

 _Soon, we'll get our moment soon. It can't come soon enough though._ Ezra kicked his feet up onto the control panel and leaned back, hands behind his head. He closed his eyes to mediate and clear his mind, but for all the journey home he couldn't shake the nagging thought; _Oh yeah, she likes you too._

* * *

 **So, this chapter was a bit of struggle to figure out. I only really had the idea of Kanan and Ezra's talk in mind, but I knew I needed to do a bit more to build it up a bit. Now, there's not nearly as much Ezra/Sabine interaction, it mostly happiness briefly at the start and end of the chapter. That's not to say there's not much focus on it, there's a running theme of it and the relationship is the focus of a couple of interactions and conversations so it's not like the chapter is all just random stuff. This is, after all, a story dedicated to Ezra and Sabine. I'm not sure how this chapter went overall, but I think it served its purpose. I think the next chapter will go back to having a lot of romance and fluff stuff, it's just I needed to use this chapter to build up a bit of context for how I want Ezra and Sabine to react to what's happened and set up their choices in the future.**

With kind regards - Lothcat1138

 **P.S: I promise I'll try my best to write a bit quicker, this took a bit longer than I'd anticipated. I'll try to put a two week target for Chapter 3 but I've (hopefully) got some pretty major life stuff coming up some point in Mid-December which might end up pushing this back a bit.** **  
**


	3. 3: A Day On Yavin

**Oh boy, two months? I didn't realise I'd let it be that long. I honestly didn't expect I'd leave it for this amount of time but, you know, life and stuff. Life has been getting in the way for (mostly) good reasons. I don't like going into detail about it, but I've had a lot of pressure taken off me and years of work seems to have paid off for the better. This should, hopefully, give me a bit more time to myself and of course to write. With Season 4 coming back in a few weeks for it's end, I'm going to have Rebels-fever for at least the next few months so hopefully I can write a fair bit.**

 **Like for Chapter One, the amount of feedback, advice and compliments on Chapter Two was really amazing to read. I really appreciate getting any response and thanks to anyone who did leave something. I was also very surprised and humbled when I saw my little story mentioned by some users on Reddit, and I really appreciate that people enjoyed it. I am on Reddit and reasonably active on r/StarWarsRebels but under a different name. I want to keep my Reddit and FanFic stuff private from each other for various reasons, but I'm there.**

 **So, about this chapter. I really was questioning what to do with the chapter and that's part of the reason I didn't get to writing sooner. In my head, I think I can get at least another chapter after this one, probably two, before I'll move on to a different multi-chapter story or go do one-shot stuff. I know I was considering doing something in tandem with all of Season Four but I think I'd just be dragging it out for time's sake. I'd rather finish it up in 4-5 chapters than push it out for 7-8 for length's sake. This chapter has a bit more Ezra and Sabine stuff than the last one but it's not as much as the first chapter, and it's set after "In The Name of the Rebellion". Also, continuing with my alternating perspectives, we're back with Sabine's POV...**

* * *

Sabine sat exhausted at the edge of her bunk, giving up on the interrupted and restless sleep she'd been trying to get. Checking the time, it'd been about 7 hours since she got back to Yavin after her mission to Jalindi and she'd spent most of it lying awake between five minute bursts of sleep. The mission had gotten complicated, an infiltration turned into sabotage and then into a wild escapade involving a Star Destroyer, an over-sized Kyber Crystal and Saw Gurrera. Normally, that would be enough to wear her out and let her rest, but this mission was different. Her first since returning from Mandalore, she was beginning to appreciate just how differently the Rebels worked compared to her own people. The only rule of Mandalorian warfare was that there weren't any rules. Meanwhile, for all their ragtag nature and rough edges, the Rebel Alliance was mired by protocol, rank, procedure and caution. True, she wasn't on board with traditional Mandalorian ways, Sabine had always cherished a stronger moral compass and restraint that her peers, but she was still a Mandalorian. As much as she did enjoy being with the Rebellion, she'd never felt more frustrated and controlled by them.

She couldn't help but find common ground with Saw. She'd lost a lot to the Empire and she knew that sometimes you had to bend the rules to emerge victorious. Risky things, even bad things, can be done for a good cause. _Good is a point of view, I bet the Empire deludes itself into thinking it's doing some sort of good by its actions._ Sabine shook the thoughts out of her head, she was no extremist. Sure, loved explosives and sticking it to the Empire, but she'd never kill an innocent, even if it cost her life. _Don't beat yourself up about it, you know Ezra leans that way too._ It was true, Ezra was even more taken by Saw than she was. Of course, he wouldn't drop to Saw's level, but over the years she'd seen him push the limits of his Jedi teachings and walk just a little close to the dark side in an effort to complete his mission, especially in the months after Malachor. Thankfully, Ezra had grown past that phase mostly and ultimately rejected Saw's ideas when they were on the Star Destroyer.

But that wasn't what had kept her staring at the bottom of her top bunk for several hours. It wasn't Saw or his methods or even Ezra keeping her up all night. N _ot this time anyway._ It was what Ezra had said after they'd got back on the Ghost, the same thing Saw had mentioned before: The Empire is ready for and winning a war that most Rebels don't even believe has started. For all their hard work and sacrifice, the Rebellion might end up failing anyway. Sure, she'd known from the start that she might never see the Empire fall. Even if she lived a good, long life, plenty of despised regimes and governments had lasted several lifetimes. The chance of defeat hung behind every action she'd taken with the Ghost crew, but never had that chance felt so real as it did now.

Deciding she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, she got to her feet and switched to a clean set of underlayers and geared herself up in her uniquely coloured armour. Leaving her helmet and blasters in her quarters, she walked to the common area to grab some food. Time always got strange with space travel. Dawn in one place was mid-afternoon in another. Krownest, Mandalore and Yavin all varied by several hours, and had forced Sabine to get used to unpredictable sleep patterns over the last few months. Luckily, the Ghost had returned to Yavin sometime in the middle of the night which told Sabine it must be a fairly normal time in the morning to wake up.

As Sabine entered the common room, she was proven right. Zeb sat at the table with his plate of 'space waffles' and a hastily rinsed mug of what must have been caf told her that Hera had already gotten to her busy daily schedule.

"Yeesh, wrong side of the gas giant this morning?" _Thanks, Zeb. Means a lot._ The Lasat always had a way with words.

The girl smiled, "I look that bad, huh?", walking across the room to get some of her own food.

Her big purple friend caught on to his half-insulting comment, "Nah, you just look miserable. Ezra'd force throw my breakfast if I meant it any other way."

 _You're not wrong, bet you won't make that mistake again._ Ezra's old crush all those years ago had been public knowledge to everyone on the crew and more than a few beyond it, even if Ezra didn't know it. He did, however, know Zeb had noticed. Nothing was above mockery with those two, even years later and when Ezra wasn't in the room, the Lasat would still find a way to poke fun at his young Jedi friend.

Letting the quip slide unmentioned she sat next to him with her own meal, "So what you think of all this Kyber crystal stuff. Think we should be worried".

Sabine's heart sunk a bit as the Lasat's ears drooped and the smile on his face disappeared, "Crazy stuff. I don't know much about it but if Kanan's worried, I'm worried." Zeb sighed and seemed to think for a second before continuing, "Hey, Sabine. Kyber crystals are lightsaber crystals, right?"

"Yeah, I think so". _For someone who had a lightsaber for a good few months, you should probably know more about them._

"Right. You seen what those things can do. Cut through stormtroopers, metal, people, like their nothing. If the Empire has a massive one, what's to stop them making a giant weapon with it? It'd cut our fleets to bits. Karabast, it would destroy whole planets." _Jeez, Zeb. You scare me sometimes._ Sabine wasn't sure how to answer, sitting silently for more than a few seconds. Whether because of Sabine's discomfort or his own, Zeb decided to close the issue. "Bah, forget about it. It's not like the Empire would want to destroy a whole planet, right? Doesn't matter, we'd stop them like we always do."

"Tell that to the Geonosians." Sabine wanted to believe him, that they'd stop them whatever happened. However, the more she thought about Geonosis the more it scared her. It wasn't even that the Empire could wipe out a whole planet that scared her, it was this it was done so secretly. Billions of lives, an entire world, gone. And no one in the galaxy had a clue until Hera dropped out of hyperspace. If the same happened to Yavin or Lothal or Mandalore? Would everything they worked for be destroyed and forgotten, barely noticed by the galaxy?

Zeb was equally as taken aback by the realisation, and resolved to focus on eating for a while. The two sat in silence for a bit before the hiss of the door brough Ezra into the room.

 _Damn, if I woke up on the wrong side of the gas giant, Ezra's on the other side of the galaxy._ From the look of it, he hadn't slept at all. Bags hung under his eyes, his hair unkempt on his head and his clothes thrown lazily on with creases and an untucked shirt. Gloomy was an understatement, he looked like he'd been given a few days to live.

"First her, now you. That mission with Saw really took it out of you two", Zeb said as Ezra entered.

The young man didn't respond straight away. He fumbled with some cupboards and grabbed some cereal. "I guess it did, time changes and all that - think I'm space-lagged." _He's lying. It's gotta be the thing with Saw, same as you._ Ezra poured the cereal and got a mug for his own caf. With a smile, he looked over to Sabine and gestured at the pot. _Still a gentleman even when you're barely conscious._ A smile and the slight nod of her head told Ezra to get a second one, and within a few moments a warm mug sat infront of Sabine.

As Ezra went to sit down, he instinctively went to sit on the other side of Zeb, opposite Sabine. After a moment though, he looked at her and decided to seat himself next to Sabine instead. The two shared another one of their warm, slightly too-long-to-be-normal gazes as Ezra found his place. Zeb didn't seem to notice the action, or if he did then he didn't joke about it. After a few mouthfuls, Ezra started talking, "So what you guys talking about?"

"Nothing much", Zeb didn't want to talk about it any more than she did.

"Right, okay then." Sensing the undertone, Ezra dropped the subject.

Sabine didn't doubt that the same things keeping her up at night had kept Ezra awake as well. Space-lagged sure, but they'd both spent more than enough time on the Ghost for it not to be too big of an issue. No, Sabine knew something must have been troubling him. When she got some time with him maybe she'd try talking about it, help him sleep a bit better and herself too. _Huh, there is an easier way to give us a good night's sleep._ The events of a few nights ago flooded back. The feeling of comfort and safety, the way all the problems seemed to melt away as they lay there to happily. She'd half a mind to just grab him right now, but Zeb's presence and her own uncertainty about where they stood with each other held her back.

The Lasat finished his food and was ready to talk about something a little less depressing. "So, how was the mission anyway? That explosion was pretty wizard."

She couldn't help but smile at the Lasat's favourite adjective. "It was, glad we weren't in it. As scary as being flung off a satellite dish might have been, looking back on it that was kinda fun."

Ezra nearly choked, "Are you serious? We nearly died for real?"

"I wasn't worried, I had you there to keep an eye on me."

A hint of redness seemed to creep on Ezra's cheeks, "Uh..oh...uh, thanks."

Wanting to embarrass him in another way, Sabine's face took on an expression of faked offense, "So you didn't feel safe with me?"

Zeb chuckled, "Hah, she's got you now kid."

His hands rubbed the back of his neck as he fumbled an answer, "That's not what I meant. I- I do feel safe I was just worried, you know? I didn't mean to make you think I don't trust you...".

She playfully rolled her eyes as Zeb burst into more laughter. _You nervous, mumbling, lovable idiot._ Sabine always teased him, even about his crush on her. Not so much directly, but she had on more than one occasion used it to put him in an awkward position for Zeb to find funny. Over time, as she realised her own feelings for him weren't just 'friendly' any more, she still did it if only to keep Zeb's suspicion at bay. Even with what had happened with the two of them on Krownest, she knew it was still a bit early to let it go just yet.

After Zeb had his _fun_ and the trio were mostly finished with breakfast, they kept talking. "So, what's everyone doing today?" Ezra asked between sips of his caf.

Zeb leaned back and sighed, "Ugh, I'm on inventory duty with AP5 and Kallus."

"Sorry, buddy. Someone's gotta do it.", Ezra said with a sarcastic sense of sympathy.

"You'd think in this whole base they'd have someone else to do it. I'm a Lasat honour-guardsman, proven warrior and part of one of the best crews in the Alliance, and I have to sort crates with ' _Alexsandr'_ and the most boring droid in the galaxy".

The liquid that had previously been moving from Sabine's cup to her mouth quickly found its way to the table infront of her as she lost herself to laughter. _Alexsandr? What kind of name is that?!_ It took more than a minute for Sabine to calm down. "Who's 'Alexsandr'? I gotta meet the guy who is stuck with a name like that."

Ezra grinned, "We didn't tell you? You already know him, but you've gotta guess."

Sighing in humoured frustration and with a smile on her face, she racked her brain for who it could be. _Do clones have special names?_ "It's not Rex's real name, is it?"

Both Zeb and Ezra laughed, "No, not him. He's just Rex." Zeb answered.

 _Not Rex, who else?_ "Don't tell me Hera gave Chopper some weird name? I'd never let him forget that."

"No, you were closer with Rex."

 _Who? It's not Kanan, or Hera. Who else is ther-_ "Wait, don't tell me it's Kallus' real name?"

Her two companions laughed again, as much as they did the first time they themselves found out. Zeb sat up straight with a put-on Imperial voice "ISB Agent Alexsandr Kallus, ready to lose to those Rebels... again."

 _'Alexsandr' Kallus? Now I know why he loved the Empire, they only call you by your surname._ "Why didn't you guys tell me sooner? I could have messed with him in person when I saw him the other day."

As the laughter cooled off, Ezra took his empty mug along with Sabine's and cleared the table, wiping up her own spilled mess as he did so. As he sat back down, he moved just a little bit closer to Sabine than he had before, resting his hand in the not-quite big enough space between their hips and allowing his hand to rest gently by her leg. She didn't mind. Sure, it might have been an accident, but she hoped that it was intentional. _And there's the hugging urge again, damnit. i could hold his hand, Zeb wouldn't notice._ She shook the thought from her head, she was jumping ahead a bit too much. _You still just friends, Sabine. You don't know how he'll react._ That wasn't entirely true, she knew they were something more than friends with their little moments the last few days, but she didn't want to jump the blaster and rush into. _All the time in the galaxy Sabine, take it slow. He's not going anywhere. At least wait for Zeb to leave._

Sabine decided against holding his hand, but happily let it rest gently against her, just to feel his presence. "What about you, Ezra? Anything planned?"

"Jedi-stuff with Kanan. He wants me to try connect with some of the weird animals in the jungle, we'll probably be out most of the day."

She was a little disappointed to hear that. Since coming to Yavin, she hadn't really spent any time with him, not alone anyway. Her first day or so was spent resting, unpacking and catching up with everyone she'd missed. Sure, she wanted to spend time with Ezra, but that didn't mean she also didn't want to catch up with Hera, Zeb, Rex, Wedge or even Kallus. _Alexsandr, that's just sad._ By the time she'd unpacked and seen everyone, she'd lost most of the first day. They did have a nice couple hours spent as a family, just the 6 of them, some food and a whole lot of talking but she didn't get Ezra to herself at all. _I really should paint that night when it's still fresh in my mind. The last family painting I did was years ago._ The next morning they were off to sabotage a satellite dish. It was always fun working on missions with Ezra, and the two seemed to get a bit more touchy than usual this time around. He'd held her hand for quite a bit longer than he'd needed to when pulling her up from the edge, and she had deliberately held his hand to get him up and running even when she didn't need to. On the ship, his sweet gestures of letting her through doors first didn't escape her notice either. Even in the middle of battle, after throwing around troopers with the force, he'd still make an effort to be sweet.

Ezra's voice snapped Sabine out of her thoughts, "What about you?".

"Oh, uh, I'm with Hera I think. Said I'd help up with some repairs around the Ghost. Nothing much, probably go workout in the afternoon or blaster practice or something. I'm sure Rex has some targets somewhere." That last part wasn't so concrete, with the amount of sleep she'd had she wouldn't mind spending an afternoon doing nothing for once. _Just wish I could steal you too._

Their conversation was interrupted by the clanking of metal and the slight whir of droid motors. "Captain Orrelios, you were meant to be at the cargo area 10 minutes ago." _Never though I'd be glad to see that AP-5 hasn't changed._

Zeb rested his head in his hands, "Karabast, just blast me and get it over with."

"If you don't get the job done, I'm sure Hera might take you up on that offer." The gruff, clam voice of Kallus came as if from nowhere, as he appeared behind the old Imperial logistics droid.

"Hey, Alexsandr", Ezra waved comically at him. The comment set Zeb and Sabine laughing again.

Kallus grimaced, clearly irritated. "I still don't get what's so funny? It's not as ridiculous as 'Garazeb'."

The Lasat didn't seem to mind the slight, "Yeah, yeah, keep trying Alexsandr." Zeb stood up from the table and picked up his Bo-Rifle and slung it over his shoulder. "How much stuff we gotta sort through anyway?"

"Enough that we should have started by now if we wanted any daylight." Kallus replied.

Without missing a beat, Zeb retorted, "Well if your name wasn't so funny we would have started sooner"

The Imperial defector couldn't help but smile. There was no malice between either of them, even from her brief time at the base Sabine could see Zeb and Kallus had become unexpectedly good friends. "I'm sure Hera will find that excuse more than adequate for why her munitions aren't ready for next patrol."

Sabine laughed at the two, "You two fight like an old married couple. An odd, weirdly named, married couple." Ezra clearly appreciated her joke, but Zeb and Kallus less so.

Zeb turned back to them, "Look who's talking. A Jedi and a Mandalorian isn't a normal couple."

"Hey!" The two teens exclaimed in unison, but their protest only encouraged the large purple warrior who laughed as he walked out of the room. AP-5 waddled after Kallus and Zeb as they left the ship, leaving Ezra and Sabine alone.

For the first time in a good few days, she finally had a bit of privacy with him, if only for a few minutes. "When are you going training?".

Ezra looked over at the time, "Kriff, I don't know. Soon I think. Kanan should be back any minute, he's with Hera somewhere."

 _Karabast. I don't want to have to wait days again. Ugh, nothing you can do. Just make the most of the time you have now._ Sabine took her own advice, and the hand that had been resting on her leg for the last few minutes was enveloped by her own. With a quick movement, Ezra shifted his hand to let him slide his fingers between hers. _Perfect fit._

Sabine smiled down at their linked hands, noticing from the corner of her eye that Ezra was doing the same. _This is really happening. It's only a matter of time. We'll get out privacy and our moment and I'll let it out to you._ The two sat quietly for a while, before Sabine shifted her weight. Ezra seemed to think she was getting up to leave given his startled reaction, but she quickly put him at ease as she rested her head on his shoulder. _Ok now I could sleep happily._ Sabine closed her eyes, taking in the moment for all it was worth.

"What do you think of Yavin?", Ezra asked calmly, not opening his eyes or wiping the contented smile from his face.

"It's nice. It's good not have spiders crawling around everywhere." _Ugh, I hate spiders. Why'd it have to be spiders?_ "And this rebellion feels bigger now. We might actually have a shot at this. Seeing everyone here, all the stuff everyone has built. I'm just hoping it's all worth it."

"It will be." Ezra's eyes opened and seemed to narrow slightly, "I still miss Atollon though. Sure, I like where the rebellion has come but Atollon was _our_ rebellion. Everything we'd worked for. Everything Hera and Sato had built and it's all just gone."

The memory of Atollon was still remarkably fresh for Ezra, even though it had been more than a few weeks. It hurt Sabine too, but maybe she was more used to losing her home and surroundings. Ezra had spent years travelling on the Ghost or sleeping rough on the streets. Chopper Base was the first permanent home he had on an actual planet for years, and the Empire took it from him just like they did on Lothal.

Breathing in and out to calm himself in the way Kanan had taught him, Ezra seemed to relax again. "It's in the past now. We won't lose what we have here."

"We didn't lose everything. We still have Hera, Kanan, Zeb, Chopper, Rex and we have each other." The Mandalorian's words comforted him and cheered him up a bit.

"I guess I'll just have to settle for that then", Ezra's smile told her he wasn't at all unhappy to accept that.

Ezra's rested his cheek down onto Sabine's head, savouring what little time they had together. There wasn't anything else to say, nothing they'd have the time to discuss before they were forced apart by their duties for the day. The two fell quiet again and a sense of calm washed over her as they sat there together.

Sabine felt barely a minute had passed with the couple simply absorbing each other's presence and the seemingly short moment was broken by Ezra, "Guess you didn't sleep much either?"

Sabine looked at him quizzically, "What makes you say that?"

Ezra smiled, "Well, you were just asleep there for a few minutes."

Surprised, Sabine looked at the time. _Damn, he's right._ What had felt like a minute to her had actually been closer to ten. _As if I needed more reason to steal you away, you're the best pillow I could ask for._

"Sorry, I guess I should have expected that to happen. Not the first time I've fallen asleep like this." Sabine recalled the night on Krownest for the hundredth time since it happened. It was about as a perfect a night she could have hoped for. _Soon, every night can be like that._

The young Jedi smiled down at her with his crystal blue eyes, "It is pretty comfortable like this. Could improve it though."

Ezra's hand slipped out of hers as his arm reached around her back and pulled her in, holding her close in a warm embrace as Sabine's head rested on the front of his chest. _You're too good at this, I think I'm falling more in love with you._ Her ear pressed against the fabric of his shirt, and she heard his heart beating under it. _It's going fast, he's nervous._ Admittedly, she was nervous too, all of this was still new, but she couldn't help but smile at the obvious physical reaction from him. Bringing her own arm across his abdomen, she completed their hug.

"This reminds me of that night on Krownest." Sabine wanted to drop the mention in, just to see what he might say.

A smile covered the boy's face, "It does, but I think it was even comfier lying down. All warm, nowhere to rush off to either." Sabine wanted that now more than anything else. The chance to simply hold him and be held for hours without interruption, it was all she needed.

"You're right there." The Mandalorian nuzzled more into his shoulder. Ezra's arm squeezed her slightly and she felt the powerful muscles in his arms pressing against her back. The thought made her acutely aware of the slightly toned muscles on which her head was resting and her arm brushed gently on the tight muscle on his stomach. _Another reason I want some alone time with you..._ Sabine wasn't usually the type for... _that_. Sure, she had _urges,_ but she never fulfilled them. _With anyone else, anyway._ Despite everything, a familiar feeling washed over her that was so often linked with Ezra. The same feeling that came as she glimpsed him undressed on Krownest and the same urge that had motivated her to take their teasing just a little further that next morning.

Ezra was, of course, completely oblivious to the change of thoughts in Sabine's head. "Wish we had some caf again and some more stories to tell." Sabine was amused by his innocence. _He's got his own urges, just got to entice them out._

Maybe it was the lack of sleep affecting her self-control, maybe it was days of frustration, but she couldn't fight the need to be just a little bit more flirty. "I seem to remember me not having some hard armour plates getting in the way," _Kriff it, "_ And you were wearing a bit... _less_." Sabine could hear the slight jump in his heart rate. _There it is._

"Can't exactly undress here, not going to sleep yet." Ezra's mischievous smile filled Sabine with happiness, excitement and more than a little bit of lust.

"Hm, didn't say here or now. Though, don't know if I'd complain. It was a lot more... comfortable." Sabine lifted her head to look at him more directly, her eyes almost completely on their own volition, giving the Jedi a sultry look.

Ezra didn't break his gaze at her deep brown eyes, "A lot more comfortable. I had another piece or two to lose though, so did you." Ezra seemed to shuffle into her, their bodies pressed up against each other.

 _Kriffing Jedi training. Is there some way to lock everyone else out of the Ghost for a couple hours?_ Sabine couldn't help but bite her lip slightly, her hormones were starting to take over. _I know you want to Sabine, I know you do. But Kanan and Hera are back any second._ "You really know how to make a girl blush, Bridger. Among other things...".

Ezra didn't answer, he just kept locked into her gaze. Their eyes told each other of a million emotions at once. Love, care, friendship, trust, lust. That last one seemed to be overpowering the others right now. Ezra's head moved slightly forward, edging barely a centimetre closer to hers. _Is he?_ Another slight movement brought him slightly closer. _He's going to._ Sabine saw his eyes begin to close as he inched forward. _This is happening, kriff, finally._ Sabine begun to close her eyes, ready to release a thousand emotions and months of desire in one single action...

The sound of hard metal on the Ghost's floor startled the two and forced them apart nearly instantly. Within a second, the mechanical hiss of a door sounded and Kanan and Hera walked in to the room.

"Sorry, Ezra. You ready to head out?", Kanan asked. Of course, they didn't have to worry if he saw the awkward, frustrated look of the two teens. Hera on the other hand, was a risk.

With his usual fumbling and disorganisation, Ezra answered, "Uh, yeah. Yeah I'm ready to go."

Sabine remained quiet as Ezra took a second and then stood up. Hera eyed the two suspiciously, seemingly sensing something was wrong. "Are you two alright? You seem weird?", she asked as her hands found their way to her hips in the usual pose she gave when determined or concerned.

 _Why do you have to be so good at being a mom, Hera?_ "We're fine, we're fine. Nothing weird." Ezra's obviously forced answer didn't please Hera and Sabine shook her head.

"Really?", Hera wasn't amused.

Sabine quickly deployed some damage control, "We were just talking about the Empire. And what Saw said about the war. We're just worried I guess."

She wasn't sure Hera fully believed her answer, but the Twilek dropped it nonetheless, "Alright. Don't let Saw get to you, this war isn't over yet, it's barely started." Hera cleared her throat, "Right, you two can go train, don't be gone too long, okay?"

Kanan smiled, "We'll try not to get in too much trouble."

"And Sabine, you still okay to help me with repairing the Ghost?"

She smiled, "Of course, I missed working on her."

The Twilek dropped her arms down to her sides and relaxed. "Okay, good."

Kanan and Ezra turned to leave and Sabine got out from her chair. Hera walked out to the cockpit as Kanan lead the way out to the cargo hold. As Ezra left, Sabine saw him glimpse at her. Ezra's mischievous grin returned for a brief second and he winked to her. _You better get back here later, we've got unfinished business._

The young Mandalorian followed Hera into the cockpit and took a seat behind her. Hera seemed focused on some technical task so Sabine sat there quietly for a while letting her work. Her mind was still half in the room with Ezra a minute ago, so close to unleashing all their emotion. They couldn't keep doing this, showing such clear signs of attraction and not acting on them. It was starting to get frustrating. Not that the tension wasn't fun, but she wanted to show him how much he meant to her. To kiss him and hold him and all the other things beyond it. Just saying those three special words to him and letting him know she was never going to turn her back on him. _Sabine Wren doesn't turn her back on people she cares about, she'll always do what she can to protect them, even if they don't appreciate it._

"I don't want Saw to get to you, Sabine". The Mandalorian was taken by surprise by Hera's sudden talking. "Don't let him fill your head with his propaganda, it's only a way to legitimise his actions."

"I know, Hera. You know'd I'd never sink to his level" Saw wasn't Empire level bad, but he'd done plenty of things to brandish him as a terrorist, even by Rebel standards.

"I know. I'm not accusing you of that, not at all. I just don't want him to undermine your faith in this Rebellion, in us." Hera had turned to face her now, giving her her full attention. "It's like Kanan says. Anger and aggression are the easy path, but then how much better are you than your enemy? We won't sink to those levels, no matter how much Saw tries to scare us with his war talk."

Sabine agreed, mostly, but she wasn't any less worried. "But what about the weapons the Empire is building? Why do they need Kyber crystals and what does Saw know that we don't?"

"Saw doesn't know anything, he's acting on feelings like always." the pilot sighed and her thoughts seemed to hang heavy on her, "As for the crystals, I don't know. I can't answer that, but there's no guarantee they're even being weaponised. They could be simply for power or some decoration." Honestly, Sabine didn't think Hera even believed that, but it was nice to hear anyway.

The Mandalorian girl thought for a moment, "I guess you're right. I think I'm just worrying because I'm tired."

The motherly smile from Hera warmed Sabine's heart, "You can go back to sleep if you want, I don't mind."

"Thanks, but I want to help you."

Hera shrugged, "Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't offer."

The Twilek turned back and tinkered some more before standing up and leading Sabine outside. Their first task was engines as one of the exhausts had taken a glancing blow from a Tie Defender on Jalindi. There was something cathartic about mechanical work. It was so simple, so easy. Everything worked the same way and once you knew what the problem was it was easy to fix. Zeb and Ezra always complained about repair work, but Sabine had always secretly enjoyed it. It was art in its own way. Plus the Ghost was her home and Sabine always wanted it to be in the best condition it could be.

* * *

Several hours passed as they worked their way through different tasks across the ship. Once engines were done, the stabilisers needed work. Followed by some carbon scoring scrubbing and turret calibrations. Even when the essential jobs were done, Sabine took it on herself to clean the viewport of the cockpit as Hera took a break to read over some mission reports command had given her. With her job complete it was pushing on sunset. With a lingering look at the orange sky that framed the similarly shaded gas giant the moon orbited, Sabine found her way back up the Ghost's ramp and into the cargo bay. Hera was in the cargo bay, counting their own personal supplies. A datapad lay off to her side, a set of intel files still open. The Twilek noticed her as she came in.

"Anything interesting in those?" Sabine nodded at the datapad.

"Not much. They're just some reports from Agents Andor and Garrett, intel on the Partisans and some new transfers. A few new pilots should be here soon bringing some new ships too, Rebel design."

"Rebel design? I didn't know we had the resources." Funding wasn't something the Rebellion had an abundance of, so Sabine was surprised to learn they were already designing their own equipment.

Hera shrugged, "Neither did I, but you can thank Bail Organa. He funnelled extra resources into the program after we retrieved those Tie Defender schematics."

"At least they're doing something about it, our A-Wings won't last long if those Defenders go into production."

The Twilek shook her head, "I know but I'm more concerned about our pilots. Every mission we seem to lose one or two more, I don't know how much longer we can take these losses." Hera sighed and leaned up against the wall to face her, "At least we're getting some new faces. A couple of Corellians, an Ishi Tib and a a particularly talented one from some desert backwater in the Outer Rim."

"Hey, if they'll fight the Empire they can come from wherever", Sabine leaned onto a crate opposite her and took a breather. She'd been working non-stop all day since Kanan and Ezra had left.

"Speaking of Tie Defenders, I've been mulling over some more plans to try and motivate Mon Mothma to launch a strike on the factory." Hera's voice didn't sound all that optimistic.

"You don't think they will?"

"I don't know, I'm having my doubts." Hera's eyes looked down to the ground, it hurt her to say it but Sabine knew Hera was always honest with her, "With Thrawn there I think Command is worried about another Atollon situation."

 _Atollon. Again we're talking about that._ As much as it hurt Ezra, Sabine couldn't help but realise how much that must have hit Hera. It was Hera's hard work that brought them there and she was a major driving force for its operation. Even if she couldn't have anticipated Thrawn's effectiveness, Hera was the sort who took those failures personally, she wasn't one to place blame on anyone else even if it wasn't her fault.

Sabine didn't want to upset her nor did she want to still dwell of past failures. "You know you can take a break, you don't have to spend every second worrying. You do more for the Rebels than anyone I know, so try and take some time for yourself."

A faint smile formed on the Twilek's lips, "I'll try. Not sure what there is to do to relax."

 _I guess she wouldn't like blaster practice, or sparring in general. Won't get her gambling with Zeb, Kallus and the guys either._ "I don't know, family time. Go spend some time with Kanan or we can go sit and talk somewhere, like normal people."

Hera laughed a bit, "Kanan's just as busy as I am. That last one sounds nice. But what do 'normal' people talk about?" Sabine smiled and sat herself down opposite Hera. _Here's as good a place to talk as any._ Hera agreed and sat down opposite her, their legs side by side from opposite sides of the wall and crate.

"I guess we're not normal people, huh?" Hera's question was a good one, they weren't normal people. They couldn't talk about work, the entire point of this was to escape that. Hera didn't seem like the sort to watch holovids or listen to music, nor did she share a love for art that Sabine could discuss with her. _We both share one interest at least; Jedi._ The thought should have been so obvious to Sabine that it should have come sooner. For all her nervousness about the situation with Ezra, she was missing an obvious source of knowledge. _If someone knows about falling in love with Jedi, it's her._ Sabine didn't want to tell Hera about what was going on just yet, but maybe getting her to talk about Kanan a bit might give her some useful advice. "So, uh, how are you and Kanan?"

The Twilek was surprised by her topic choice, "Me and Kanan? Why do you ask?"

"I just - that's what normal people talk about isn't it? Relationships and stuff?"

"I suppose.", Hera cleared her throat. Sabine could tell she didn't really talk about their relationship to anyone other than Kanan. Certainly she'd never talked to her about it. She knew it was there, obviously, anyone could see the two loved each other, but not once could she think of either of them talking about it to anyone. "We're... okay? We're happy, if that's what your asking. I'm so busy with the Rebellion and he's so busy with Jedi training and his own missions that we don't get much time together."

"What about this morning? Time to yourself?"

Her Lekku waved side to side as she shook her head, "Mission briefing, assignments and the like."

"When was the last time you had time together?"

Another sigh, "Too long. He asked to go for a walk somewhere a few days ago, said he found a nice spot out in the jungle to relax. I was excited but then Saw happened and we never got around to it."

Sabine felt bad for her and Kanan, the Rebellion was getting in the way of their relationship a bit too much for her liking. "Go tonight. Shut off your comm and just take an evening off."

Hera couldn't help but smile, "I wish I could, Mon Mothma would strip me of my command if an emergency came up."

"Then give me your comm. Just keep your personal one and if there's an emergency I'll let you know."

Surprisingly, the idea seemed to sit well with Hera. "Well, one night couldn't hurt. I'll think about it."

Sabine jokingly scowled, "No, you'll do it. Do or do not, there is no try."

The imitation of Kanan's words of wisdom made her laugh. _It's good to see you happy, Hera. You deserve it._

They let the moment sit a while longer but before long Sabine notcied Hera looking at her, with her 'concerned mom' look on her face.

"Why did you ask about me and Kanan?", Hera asked.

 _Karabast, I can't tell her yet._ "No reason," Sabine tried to be less blunt, "Just thought we'd never talked about it before, so why not."

Hera's gaze didn't change, it was as if she was seeing right through her. "It's just odd timing. When we were walking back earlier Kanan mentioned he had his own 'relationship' talk with Ezra the other day." _Ezra! You told Kanan?!_

Sabine did her best to hide her confusion and slight panic, "Did he say why?"

"No, just said they'd talked about it, no idea why or even what they talked about. 'Us' I suppose. Maybe Ezra's just getting older and Kanan felt it was the right time." _Ezra did say they were talking about me when we left Krownest, it wasn't then was it?_

"Yeah probably." Sabine wanted to avoid any hint of her and Ezra's budding romance.

Hera, on the other hand, wasn't fooled, "Or... Ezra asked for advice."

"Why would Ezra need-" Sabine didn't even get to finish the sentence, she could tell from Hera's face that she'd already made the leap. The Mandalorian couldn't find the nerve to look directly at her anymore. Hera reached up and hit a button on the side of the wall, causing the cargo bay ramp to close up.

"There, door is closed. No one's going to hear. Spill it, Sabine." _Can I just crawl into a hole and hide instead?_ She still couldn't look at the motherly Twilek without knowing she'd flush red the moment she did. Sabine never talked about these things and now here she was, sitting on the floor, about to tell Hera all about it.

"I don't know where to start." It was more a time-buying strategy than anything else and Hera knew it, but she played along.

Hera folded her arms. _She's in serious mode, we're really talking about this._ "You think you have feelings for Ezra?" _Not just think I have feelings, I know I do._ Sabine just nodded. "Do you think he feels the same way?" She hid the urge to smile but the thought made her happy. _Definitely._

"I think so." _No reason to tell her how close we've come already yet, best to leave it be a bit more simple._

"So that's why you asked about Kanan and I? Because you needed advice?" Hera was too good at this already.

"Part of it. Of course I do actually want to know you're okay." Every bit of it was honest, she always wanted to know they were happy, but it was her own situation that pushed to finally ask about it.

"Well,", the Twilek begun, "The fact that Kanan had to talk to him about it probably means either he saw something or Ezra asked him. I'd say it's a safe bet he feels the same way."

Sabine realised she had to be a bit more honest, "Hera, I just want to know what to do. We've had... moments, but I've never done this before. I know how I feel and I think I know how he does, I just don't know how to show him properly."

"I can't tell you how to do it right, it's different for everyone. You tried telling him? Or showing him?"

"I can't find the words to tell him, not the right ones. I've wanted to but I get too nervous or we just never get the time. We came close once or twice but never quite got there." The frustrating memories of their interruption in the cockpit and then again this morning came back to her.

"Is that telling him or showing him?" Hera inquired.

"Both I guess. I mean..." _Why is this so difficult to talk about?_ "We nearly kissed earlier but we were interrupted."

"Earlier? When?" Hera seemed surprised that the two were so far along already.

"About a second before you and Kanan walked through the door." There was frustration in her voice, but Sabine smiled. It wasn't on purpose she knew that.

Hera chuckled a bit, "I'm sorry. I did say there was something weird..."

"Yeah, well now you know why. If you couldn't guess from Ezra mumbling like dork" She thought for a second, "Don't tell Ezra I told you that. He might be embarrassed."

"My lips are sealed." There was a brief pause, "So what do you want to do about it?"

 _A whole bunch of things, some I'm not telling you about it._ "Find the right moment, the right words. What happened with you and Kanan?"

The Twilek sunk her head back with a smile, fondly remembering that time all those years ago. "Kanan was... a lot like Ezra really."

 _Kanan? Like Ezra?_ "Seriously? In what way?" Sabine couldn't envision the stoic Jedi Master being anything like his rough around the edges padawan.

"He couldn't stop flirting as soon as he met me, poorly flirting I might add." _Yep, he's like Ezra all right._ "I didn't like him like that at first, but he proved I could trust him and that he trusted me. Over time, the flirting died down and we were friends. Before long, I realised I couldn't do what I did without him. Things started to get closer and eventually we just... let it out."

 _Let it out? Uh, I hope you're not meaning in that way. I don't want to know everything._ "You know you can keep some of it private, right?" Sabine's answer made the Twilek laugh.

"I didn't mean it like that. Not enitrely anyway." The Twilek again seemed lost in memories for a moment, and Sabine didn't want to see exactly what she was thinking. "I'm trying to say that he seemed all into me at first and I didn't reciprocate. We let it grow and when the time came we just let it happen naturally."

Sabine still wasn't clear, "I still don't understand how that helps me?"

Hera smiled, "I'm saying don't worry. There's no perfect words or perfect actions. Just let it flow, and you'll find the right moment. I didn't know what I wanted to say when I was ready to tell Kanan, but afterward I wouldn't have had it any other way." _I guess that makes sense. Our lives are unpredictable, unusual and we never know what's coming. Why should us falling in love try to be any different? "_ You know how you feel about him, and you know how he feels about you. It'll work out, I promise."

Sabine finally looked at Hera and gave her a heartfelt smile, "Thanks Hera. I mean it."

"Any time, dear. I'm always here for anything. Whether it's Jedi-love advice or just 'normal people' talk."

Their conversation was over, one Sabine was glad she'd had now. As the two got up, she threw her arms around the Twilek, "You're the best."

Hera's answer was a slight squeeze before letting her go. "You know if I'm going off with Kanan later, you'll have Ezra to yourself. Some of the pilots are having a card game so I think Zeb will be out too."

 _Perfect. Now he just needs to get his ass back here._ "You got any idea when they're back?"

"Before sundown, so they won't be long. I'm going to go wash all the grime off, get ready for my evening off." Hera giggled slightly as she said so.

"I'll go after you, I think I need one." _Couldn't hurt, don't want to smell like oil and electrical fluid all night._

"Of course, believe me it always helps you feel more confident for this stuff."

As Hera climbed the ladder to go back to her quarters, Sabine called after her, "Any other advice?"

The Twilek paused and looked back down, "Relax, be yourself and be safe if you get what I mean." _Safe? What's dangerous on the Ghost?_ Sabine didn't get a chance to ask Hera before she'd disappeared up the hatch.

 _Why would she?_ _Wait..._ "Hera!" Sabine called in friendly agitation. Her only response was the sound of the Twilek's laughter disappearing elsewhere into the ship.

She let out a sigh and climbed the ladder to return to her own room. The Jedi couldn't come back soon enough. _I've waited months to tell you how I feel, I'm not waiting another day._ Tonight she was going to end all this dancing around the issue. No one to interrupt them or duties to go off to. Just her, Ezra and a galaxy-load of overdue feelings.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading and again I'm sorry for the delay. I've got a pretty clear vision about what the next two chapters will be so I really won't take too long on those. This, like the last one, was tough to figure out. I knew where I wanted to end the story overall but wasn't clear on how to get there. I've enjoyed the Kanan+Ezra and Hera+Sabine family/advice dynamic that other Ezra/Sabine stories use, so I figured I'd throw that in too.**

 **I got a bit more sexual with their flirting this time, but only because I'm trying to reflect a more believable teenage relationship. I probably don't need to tell you how hormonal they can be so I felt it made sense to sprinkle it in. Just to let people know, there won't be anything graphic here or in anything I write, I won't go beyond hints and implied stuff. For example, if they even do the deed in one my stories, it'll all be off camera stuff.**

 **Lastly, I wanted to say a thank you and well done to the other writers on here over the last few months. I've read a number of good stories from a load of different authors. 'A Phoenix Dies' by twm2002, 'Phantoms of the Past' by bowcaster46, '(Jedi) Knights in Shining Armour' by Blandest of Usernames, 'Attached' by Remy Blume, 'Sure' by SweetSinger2010 and several stories by MaybeImARebel have kept me interested and inspired the last few months. I also feel the need to praise "You're not here" by SpecSeven, a fantastic Kanera fic over on ArchiveOfOurOwn that is easily one of the most emotionally charged stories I've ever read. There's plenty of others too that I've read recently or a while ago that I still enjoy and I'm eagerly awaiting updates on several stories, I'm looking at you RagnarDanneskjold, the wait for your stuff is killing me.**

 **All I can say is I'm sorry for the wait and it shouldn't happen again. I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to being more active over the next few months.  
**  
Kind Regards - Lothcat1138


	4. 4: An Evening On Yavin

**Note: I apologise for anyone who couldn't get this chapter to display. A couple of people seemed to have this issue and I haven't got a clue why it happened. I had a little look around and apparently this isn't unheard of. It's just a waiting game and maybe a reupload. Some people seem to have had no issues, so I'll try to refrain from a complete reupload and hope time heals the issue. If the issue is still happening in a few more hours, I'll do some more fiddling on my end.**

 **I'm making use of a wave of free time and motivation to churn out another chapter. I know exactly what I want to do in both this and the final chapter next time so I've got around my biggest obstacle from before last chapter. The last two chapters have been mostly not Ezra and Sabine together, just them with other people or talking about it elsewhere, but not this one - a big ole' lump of Sabine/Ezra goodness I hope.**

 **It just dawned on me I might have made an error with my timeline that kinda messes everything up. On a whim I checked out the start and end of the first few Season 4 episodes and realised that there doesn't seem to be much of a gap between them... like at all. It seems that as soon as Ezra, Sabine and Kanan come back from Mandalore they go straight into the story of 'In The Name Of The Rebellion', and after that it seems as soon as The Ghost arrives back from that mission we're straight into the Lothal stuff. I might be a bit wrong there, but I hope people don't mind too much. It's not confirmed they go straight into the Lothal stuff after 'In The Name of the Rebellion', so my head-canon will be that the Ghost goes off for some other mission and that's what it's coming back from. Sorry about that.**

 **Another massive thank you to everyone who left feedback on last chapter and thank you for being so patient with everything, I love hearing from you guys no matter what you have to say.**

 **Last but not least, I'm going to resolve to use the words "smiled", "laughed", "seemed/seemingly" and "sighed" a lot less this time, it's my biggest pet peeve about my writing. Also if I figure out how to write a sentence that doesn't have a dozen commas in it, I'll let you guys know.**

 **Anyway, all Ezra's perspective this time and we pick up in the middle of last chapter, with Ezra and Kanan's training session out in the jungle.**

* * *

 _Life. So much life._ It was all Ezra could sense around him. As he knelt in the clearing beside his Master the force pulsated through a thousand different beings around him. Trees, vines, insects, creatures, rebels, fish, birds - he could feel them all. Meditating here was nothing like meditating anywhere else he'd been in the galaxy. He'd never seen so much green, even the vastest plains of his homeworld Lothal couldn't match the diversity of the jungle the Rebellion now called home.

"It's... amazing," Ezra couldn't find the the words to describe it.

Kanan took a deep breath, sharing the experience, "It is beautiful. I don't think I've ever been somewhere so alive."

It was peaceful here, so removed from the troubles of the galaxy. Even though the rebel base was barely ten minutes from where they were, not a single generator, practice shot or engine noise disturbed them. They'd been sat there for a few hours in nearly complete silence. At the beginning, when he wasn't so used to meditation, he'd admittedly found these sessions to be a little awkward. In the early days he didn't really know Kanan all that well and couldn't focus on meditating for more than a few minutes at a time. Now, after years of practice, it was as natural as breathing. He's even find himself doing it subconsciously, realising he'd instinctively calmed himself and cleared his mind before he'd really thought that he'd needed to do it.

That wasn't to say it was always easy. The more powerful emotions and the biggest worries often made it difficult to keep focused some days. Today, apparently, was one of those days. The one being he wanted to focus on wasn't out in the jungle or under some rock nor even sat beside him. _Sabine._

The last few days had been new. Before Sabine left to stay on Krownest, he was convinced that she would never see him as more than a friend. Not that he wouldn't want to be her friend, but he knew he'd always want more than that. The time when she was away was hard. He'd hoped it might help him come to terms with her being just a friend, but it had the complete opposite effect on him. Everyday he missed her, everyday he'd want to see her and talk to her. Even during the handful of times she could get in contact with the Ghost, it hurt him to see her knowing she might never come back. _I guess she was going through the same thing._ When her went to Krownest after escaping Atollon, he had to fight the urge to just break down as soon as he saw her. With everything that had happened beyond their separation, he almost couldn't take it. _I don't know if I sensed it then._ There was something different about her that moment though. Ezra was used to her presence, he could never forget it, but as soon Sabine saw him he felt something wholly different to usual. At the time, he thought the reason was because his own were clouding every thought about her. Now he realised he might have just been sensing the same emotions from her.

The Empire found it's way to get in-between them though. With the fighting on Mandalore he didn't really get a moment alone with her, to relax and get himself in order. He worked almost mechanically, focusing on and thinking about the mission and the task at hand. It's what made that night with her so unique. It was months of longing and waiting for her that finally had a chance to be let out. No mission, no Empire, no obstacle. When he stood on that balcony he was lucky he even restrained himself from bursting out with every emotion then and there. He was almost going to just grab her and hug her when, completely to his surprise, she did that to him. _For all your wanting to hug her, for all your dreaming of that moment, you never really planned for that._ It told him she'd missed him too, maybe as much as he'd missed her.

Looking back on it, it all was starting to make sense to him. Sabine was, for most of the time he'd known her, completely shut off from everyone else emotionally. She was so hard-shelled and independent that even if she'd been completely in love with him since day one, she sure wouldn't have given a single hint about it. The training with Kanan though had opened her up. If she'd stayed with them for a bit longer after it, maybe he wouldn't have seen it coming, but she left almost the very next day. All the growth and her emotions being unleashed was a process that happened when she was home with her family. The Sabine he came back too was so internally different to the one he'd left on Krownest and it might explain why he couldn't sense it earlier.

Everything seemed a blur after that, every memory since then seemed to be overshadowed by whatever was happening between them. The hug on the balcony, that whole night in her room, the conversation with Kanan, the days on Yavin, the mission on Jalindi, even breakfast this morning. Every part of his life was dominated by the crescendo of emotion he experienced when with her or the painful absence of her when they were apart. His mind buzzed with a million memories and ideas of what had happened and what he wanted to happen. They'd come close to letting everything out twice now, there wouldn't be a third time. His initial hesitation about her feelings had now been replaced by a hesitation about what to do next. _It's not a question of how we feel, it's how do we say it._

 _Focus, Ezra. Calm your mind. Reach out._ The often repeated advice of Kanan played in his mind again. His mind calmed once more, the thoughts of Sabine put safely aside for a little while longer. _When we get back, then it's Sabine time. Now it's Jedi time._ Telling himself that didn't change one thing though, _that time can't come soon enough._ It wasn't the first time Sabine had distracted him from meditation. Sometimes he'd come out and never be able to focus on anything else. Kanan was always patient with him about it, and he never figured out if Kanan knew exactly what was on his padawan's mind. _If he did, he was kind enough not to make me talk about it._

He opened his eyes to look over at his Master. As much he cared about Sabine, his different kind of love for Kanan was almost equally as significant. Kanan was the only father he still had but he was also one of his best friends. So much of what he'd learned about life both as a Jedi or normally was from him. Sure Kanan was a bit rough around the edges, but nothing in the galaxy was quite perfect. _Well, apart from her._ Kanan was the best where it mattered; measured, calm, trusting, humble, patient, forgiving and loving. He was the best Master Ezra could have hoped for.

As he grew older, he begun appreciating that he really wasn't the easiest student to have though. _Impulsive, angry, rebellious, stubborn, overeager, vengeful, emotional._ There was a long list of personality traits Ezra's was less than proud of that made it immensely difficult to become a Jedi. _Despite everything though, Kanan never gave up on me_. Controlling the emotions that could so easily pull him into the shadows was a direct success of Kanan's teaching rather than his own talent, as least that's how he saw it. Ezra knew Kanan would say it wasn't so, but it didn't take much thought to poke holes in that argument. After Malachor, when Kanan shut himself off for those few weeks, it didn't take long for Ezra to drift into darkness. As soon as Kanan came back, that pull seemed to release.

After a second, Ezra realised the familiar 'currents' of the force had faded as his focus waned. _Hey, there's a reason we still call these sessions 'training'._ He didn't need the force to appreciate the environment at least. The low hanging sun cast the trees in a beautiful light and the sound of the myriad of animals who lived here filled his ears. In the distance he could see the peak of the temple where the Rebels had made their base and around it several other smaller structures a varying distances away from it. One in particular caught his eye, behind all the others with an un-spoilt view of the expanse of dense jungle. _I bet the view up there is amazing._

"Ezra?", his Master had turned to him, having dropped out of his own meditative state. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah, just thinking." The young Jedi looked back out at the jungle.

Kanan relaxed as he let himself back into a normal state, "About anything in particular?"

"Thank you." He once more looked at Kanan. "I don't tell you that enough."

"There's nothing I've done that wasn't dependant on you. I can only tell you to do something, I can't make you do it successfully. All that's down to you, not me." The always humble Jedi smiled as he spoke.

Ezra shook his head with an amused expression, "You just can't take a compliment can you?". It was endearing to be fair, but Ezra wished sometimes Kanan would appreciate how much he does for other people.

"Hah, not while I'm breathing, kid." Kanan stood up and stretched out the hours of stationary kneeling, "Come on it's getting dark. Hera will kill us if we're out too late."

Copying his Master, Ezra stood up as well, "You have a point."

Following Kanan through the jungle, they navigated overgrown vines, mangled tree roots and small almost unnoticeable streams. The shrubbery was much thicker here and you could swear the sun had already set. It was clear no one had lived here for millennia, every plant had grown undisturbed and they were close to encapsulating the whole moon. As beautiful as it was, it was slightly frustrating to have to avoid tripping over a branch or poking your eye out on a stick every few steps.

"How'd you even find this place anyway?" Ezra asked, narrowly avoiding the ire of an unusual but annoyed looking snake hanging low on a branch.

"I was exploring, it can't hurt to get to know your surroundings a little better.", Kanan answered nonchalantly. _This isn't even difficult for him._ Relying on the force to move actually made it easier for Kanan to navigate here, it was no different to walking anywhere else for him. _Maybe he doesn't even notice how overgrown it is._ "I thought it was a nice spot. I've been meaning to take Hera here actually, if I ever get the chance."

Ezra smiled, he couldn't see Hera enjoying trekking through here anymore than he did. _Still, for Kanan I'm sure she wouldn't mind._ It wasn't often he got a glimpse into their relationship, but every part he saw made him happy for them. "You should, it is really pretty. Take her tonight or something."

"The problem is getting her away from Rebel Command, she's been working non-stop since we got here." _Yeah, sounds like Hera._ Kanan laughed to himself, "I might just steal her and make her spend some time with me."

Shaking his head, Ezra replied, "You worry me sometimes, you know that?"

A happy chuckle was all the response Ezra needed. "That reminds me," Kanan stopped for a moment and turned back to his following padawan. "How's... you know? You and Sabine?"

 _Why'd you have to ask that?_ He stopped and nervously rubbed his arm, "Um, we're... getting there? I think?"

"Really? What do you mean?". _Um, that's not something I'm going to talk about._ Sabine's unexpected but not unwelcome 'outburst' this morning certainly wasn't something he'd forgotten about.

"I think I might be ready to just tell her." They'd come so close to making the leap from friends to 'more than friends'. It was driving him crazy. Even though he pretty much knew how she felt, he was still nervous about it. "I just want to make sure I do it right. We just haven't had time to ourselves."

A reassuring hand from Kanan rested on his shoulder, "What about tonight?" _Tonight? I mean..._ Ezra thought for a moment. _Why not tonight? Hera and Kanan can go, Sabine and I can go to that nice looking Temple with the good view._

"You know what?" A sense of resolve filled him as he thought it over, "I can't just wait forever. I'll tell her. As long as things go okay I'll tell her."

"You remind me of myself," Kanan's hand fell from his shoulder, "Head over heels and a little bit too nervous to seize the chance straight away. I'm proud of you for being brave about it, but don't stress yourself. Better to wait for the right moment than force it as soon as possible."

"I know Kanan, I just think it's time." If he was honest with himself, it was time a few days ago but circumstances didn't allow it.

Kanan turned around and started walking back, "Well we'd better get back then, the sun is nearly down."

The walk back seemed to fly by as his mind was somewhere else. Excitement, nervousness, eagerness, fear and just a bit of sheer panic mounting as they moved through a decreasingly dense load of trees. As they moved out from the treeline he could see the Ghost on the base's outskirts. The two Jedi approached their ship before noticing the ramp was closed up. Kanan knocked three times on the hull and in a few moments the ramp slowly and loudly lowered, with Hera standing happily at the top.

"You two certainly took your time," the Twilek complained sarcastically, "It's going to be pitch black soon."

Ezra watched as Kanan walked up to her and placed his hands on the top of her arms, "We're sorry, dear. Won't happen again." His voice had his signature joking tone to it, showing he wasn't at all serious.

Hera laughed and smiled up at him, "That's okay, love." She glanced over at Ezra with a smile still on her lips, before looking back at Kanan, "Hey, you know that place you said you wanted to take me?"

 _That can't be a coincidence, can it? How did she guess?_ Kanan seemed just as surprised as Ezra that she was already a few steps ahead of them. "I-I- Yes. I was going to ask if you wanted to go tonight, you can watch the stars."

Hera took Kanan's hands and held them in her own, "That sounds lovely, dear. I'm going to get something warmer to wear, maybe a drink of something too." With a kiss on his cheek, she let go and turned to go back into the ship.

"You sure command won't mind you leaving?" Kanan asked, worried she'd overlooked that little detail.

A another familiar voice called from the ladder as the radiant armour that could only belong to Sabine Wren climbed down it, "We've already got that covered." Sabine got off the ladder and held up her hand, a commlink held in it. _Hera's comm._ "If command wants her, I'll tell her. But tonight I think you both deserve a rest."

"Well you two thought of everything." Kanan folded his arms and grinned.

The Mandalorian glanced briefly at Hera as the Twilek left to get her things, "You guys deserve to be happy. It's the least I could do."

Stepping forward toward the ladder himself, Kanan went to his trusted "hand on the shoulder" technique, "Thanks, Sabine. Now I better go get dressed, I think Hera deserves a date with someone who doesn't look like they've been knelt in mud all day."

In a moment, he too was disappearing into the Ghost. Once more, Sabine and Ezra were alone.

"You know I told Kanan to do the exact same thing?", Ezra began, "Same place, same idea."

The pink haired Mandalorian looked at him with her always beautiful smile, "Great minds think alike." Sabine fastened the comm to her belt, appearing content with the date she'd set up for the Twilek and the older Jedi.

 _Well, here goes nothing._ "I was thinking, I haven't really seen you since we got here. I saw this Temple area sticking out above the trees. I was thinking we could go there. The view look like it'd be nice and we can take a snack or something."

A knowing grin appeared on Sabine's face, "Oh, asking me on a date are you?"

Even now, she could still make a joke of it. Humour came naturally to both of them. Neither was good at actually talking about their feelings, but they'd bonded so much over their sense of humour that it made sense that their love would ground itself in it. "Maybe. Am I lucky enough to get a yes?".

Her eyes looked up to the corner, pretending to think hard about her answer, "I might be free tonight, I suppose I could spend it with you."

Ezra couldn't help but smile at her, "You've just made me the happiest person on Yavin 4."

Her beautiful hazel eyes rolled at him but the flush of her cheeks showed she did appreciate the sweet if corny compliment, "I've got to do a few things before we go, I promise I won't be long."

"You better hurry or I'll leave without you" he answered jokingly.

Sabine turned to go and finish whatever she needed to do, "You better wait, I'd never forgive you if you left without me." Her words were only a joke, she knew he'd never do that.

As the Mandalorian climbed back up to the Ghost, Ezra found himself mesmerised once again, lost in thought about the girl he'd fallen so deeply in love with. As she disappeared, he muttered under his breath, "I wouldn't forgive myself".

* * *

It had been the better part of twenty minutes since they'd gotten back. Ezra was sat in the common area in a fresh set of nearly identical clothes and with a small pack containing some water, caf and a few pieces of whatever food he could get from the kitchen. There wasn't much he could do to freshen himself up. His hair was too short to comb or style and his clothes didn't vary much beyond his usual orange attire. All he could do was take a bit of extra care to try and dress himself tidily, avoiding any creases or scuffs. It wasn't much but he hoped putting the effort in would at least make himself feel more prepared even if no one would notice any difference.

He could hear Kanan and Hera making their final preparations to leave before they walked through the door. Clothing-wise, they looked the same as they always did barring a warm utility jacket slung over Hera's shoulders. A diverse wardrobe wasn't a luxury the Rebellion afforded you after all. The happiness he could see in them was somewhat new though. Not completely new but rare enough that he wasn't used to seeing it. It was a more personal happiness, not the glory of a mission or getting some new supplies, it was the kind of happiness only possible between two people so completely in tune with each other as Kanan and Hera were.

Hera noticed him sitting in the common room and gave him a caring look, inspecting the young man and the pack beside him, "Are you planning on going out?" she asked.

Clearing his throat, he answered "Uh, yeah. Sabine and I are going to go exploring a bit."

Hera raised an eyebrow, "Exploring? In the dark?"

 _Karabast, that sounds suspicious._ "Not exploring exactly", his awkward fumbling habits came back in an instant as he started rubbing behind his neck for no apparent reason, "There's a Temple-thing out in the jungle. We were gonna go check it out."

Her face softened, "Have fun then. And be safe."

Sabine seemed to take that as her cue. She couldn't do much different to her usual routine either, but Ezra noticed she'd spent a bit of time clearing some dirt from her armour and he could swear her lips were just a bit shinier than usual. Not that it mattered what she did, to Ezra she was beautiful beyond description. _I'm so lucky to have you. Wait, slow it down. She's not yours yet, that's what tonight's about, remember?_

"So, why the Temple?", Kanan inquired to Sabine.

She looked over at Ezra, their eyes meeting for barely a heartbeat, "Ezra said it was a nice view so we thought we'd go see what it's like."

"Huh, makes sense. I suppose I wouldn't appreciate it." Kanan jested, making Hera nudge him halfheartedly.

"You know I don't like it when you make those jokes, dear." Hera held Kanan's hand and looked back at Ezra and Sabine as the older couple started to leave. "Have fun you two and don't be out too late."

"Yeah, thanks mom. You too", Sabine replied as they left. She turned her attention to Ezra, meeting his eyes with her own.

It still amazed him how effortlessly beautiful she was. The way her smile alone filled him with butterflies or how lost he could get in the gorgeous brown eyes that were now meeting his own. There wasn't a thing about her he would change, but every time she found something to do differently he found himself even more captivated by her. Even the things you couldn't see brought a smile to his face like nothing else. That laugh, her jokes, her flirting, her art, her passion, her courage, her care, her friendship. Every little piece of her, physical or not, combined to make a person Ezra wanted to devote his life to being with, a person nothing short of perfect.

The perfect, beautiful Mandalorian girl sat down opposite to him, "I'm ready if you are."

Ezra sprung up from his chair and stepped over to where she was sitting, holding out his hand, "May I?"

Sabine laughed at him and met his hand with her own, "You're a dork, you know that?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "If it works, I don't mind." He gently squeezed her hand and let his eyes drift to hers.

 _How are you so beautiful?_ They both paused, as they always ended up doing when this happened. Ezra didn't really want to wait to get to the Temple to let it out, but he knew afterwards he'd be glad to have done so. As they shared their moment, Ezra could tell she knew. She knew exactly what was going to happen tonight, what they'd say. She wanted it done right all this time, just like he did. The familiar urge to throw his arms around her pulled at him, as it did at nearly every moment he was with her. _Patience. Control. There's no need to rush this._

Not releasing the tender grip on her hand, he led her out of the Ghost and out into the cool air of dusk. Unfortunately, they'd missed the sunset but in exchange they were given a vast expanse of stars, unspoilt by light pollution or clouds. Hints of daylight still hung on the horizon and would hopefully light their way to their destination if they were quick enough. They walked around the outskirts, wanting to avoid the questions and stares of any stranger of familiar face. When they were in the right place they slipped out of the perimeter and set out through the dense woodland. The trees were just clear enough and the light just bright enough for their target to be seen above them. It was closer than he'd expected, barely further than the clearing he'd been in earlier that day. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before the trees fell away and revealed the entirety of the ancient structure.

Both of them stood in awe of it for a moment, taking in every detail of their little private retreat. "It's beautiful", Sabine admitted, her breath taken away by the building. The artist in her was taking over, no doubt appreciating every ancient carving and symobl that lined its walls and admiring the unique, precise but surprisingly simple shapes and lines. Ezra's appreciation was less thorough: _it's a cool building._

Kanan had talked to him about the history of this place and the temples. To be honest, he didn't pay that much attention. As much as he appreciated Kanan's lessons, Ezra was no historian. All he knew was that the temples had some connection to the Jedi and the Sith, and that their builders were called Massassi, hence why this cell took that name. However, they'd been built almost 5,000 years ago and had stood abandoned for almost all that time. Whatever lessons or secrets of the force these temples once had, they were extinct with their creators.

The pull on his arm told him that Sabine was done inspecting the monument. They took to the old stairs that ran up the sides of the pyramid structure and lead them to it's top. For the second time in the last few minutes, they had to stop to appreciate what they were seeing. The last remnants of day cast a dim hue over the entire jungle, bathing it in a pale blue light. Trees extended for miles around them and a handful of other temples were dotted off in various directions. They couldn't see much of the base beyond the towering main structure and some perimeter equipment. It was the night sky that had most impressed Ezra though. The stars were clear and bright and the massive gas giant of Yavin hovered silently above them, it's bright red surface contrasting the darkened blues of their moon. Turns out he'd made a good choice, _it is a really nice view._

A gentle brush of her thumb over his hand brought Ezra's eyes back to his partner, "You really know how to pick them, Ezra."

"I sure do, don't I?" He was staring right at her, and it took her a moment to get the double-meaning.

The Mandalorian playfully hit him and looked for a place to sit. The roof of their structure had a few metres of flat stone around a central pillar, letting them sit comfortably on top of it. They sat side by side, but not close enough to touch. Ezra opened the pack he'd brought, sharing out the handful of things he'd brought with them. A few minutes passed silently as they took in the sight around them before night truly came. The blue tone of the environment was slowly replaced by one that was faintly orange, reflected off the massive planetary body they orbited.

Ezra felt a strange mix of emotions. Everything about this place was as relaxing as anything he'd ever experienced. At the same time, the reason for their little adventure made sure he was as nervous as ever before. Their initial silence wasn't due to having nothing to say, it was simply mental preparation for a conversation that would hopefully change their entire lives with each other. He didn't have a clue where to start with this. Sure he'd mentally rehearsed this exact moment in his head for years but doing the actual thing was a whole other beast entirely.

 _Relax, ease yourself into it. She won't bite. Well... nevermind. Focus._ "Did you have a good day with Hera?" _Small talk isn't a bad choice, right? Come on, Ezra, ease yourself into it._

Sabine regarded him with a warm smile before answering, "Y-yeah it was good to spend time with her, I've missed her. I just wish she'd relax without me having to make her." Her left arm moved to her right, gently but slowly rubbing it. _She's nervous. She's so adorable when she's nervous._ "How was Jedi training?"

 _All I thought about was you._ Ezra thought it best not to tell her that, but she probably knew anyway. "Peaceful. There's nothing else like it."

"You'll have to teach me sometime. To meditate, I mean. I don't see myself doing force jumps anytime soon."

A laugh escaped his lips, "You with the force? The Empire wouldn't last a day."

Her arms stop fidgeting and she seemed to relax a bit, "I always wondered what you even do out there, do you just sit down all day?" Back in a more calm state, she'd placed a hand firmly between the two of them.

To say it out loud made it sound boring, but she was pretty accurate in her description, "Hey it's not just sitting. Sometimes we kneel too."

She giggled a bit, "Oh, sorry Master Jedi. Forgive me for my ignorance."

His mocked expression of offence only encouraged her to giggle more, _you're so cute._ Seeing she had started to relax, Ezra took a deep breath in and then let it out, calming his body and his mind. With a swift but soft motion, he placed his hand tenderly on hers. Instinctively her hand turned up to his and locked their fingers together.

For a few more seconds they sat quietly, before Sabine spoke up, "So, some time alone at last."

"Finally," Ezra inclined his head just enough to see her, "I've wanted some time since we came here."

Sabine's thumb soothingly rubbed his own hand, an action that had quickly become one of Ezra's favourite things in the galaxy, "Me too. I've been hoping for it for days. Now here we are, our own little temple with our own nice view." She scanned out over the forest below before turning back to him, "And the best company I could ask for."

It was Ezra's turn to feel his cheeks flush and his heart race. _Now's the time, Ezra._ "Listen, Sabine." _Why was this so hard? You know how she feels, let it come naturally._ "I've been meaning to tell you something for a long time. Something I wanted to say for ages and never knew how you'd react." She'd shifted closer to him, _you know what I'm going to say._

It wasn't as if she needed to ask him, of course she knew. Seeing him so nervous though, she wanted to help him out. Truthfully she was as nervous as him, just better at hiding it. "I... have something to tell you too. I thought about it before I left, but I didn't really know." Their hands hadn't loosened their hold on each other as they spoke, "But when we were apart, it dawned on me. I realised why I felt the way I did and I knew that as soon as I saw you things would be different." She stopped quite abruptly, as if catching her own words before she said them.

 _She's as nervous as you Ezra. Don't make her be the one who has to say it first. Make the effort, for her._ His mind raced with a million different ways to say how he felt, but none seemed right. Nothing could articulate how hard he'd fallen for her, how completely entranced he'd become by every part of her. There wasn't a way he could put her beauty into words or communicate in any way how happy every moment with her made him. _Damnit Bridger. If you can't tell her, show her._

All this time they'd been locked in each other's gaze, so close to crossing that threshold into something they both wanted and needed. Ezra brought his hand up and rested it gently on her cheek, the soft skin of her cheek warm to the touch. _She's still blushing._ He placed it gently and with a slight, unobtrusive bit of force, pulled her slightly to him. At the same time, he moved his own head closer to her. His focus moved between her hazel eyes and her lips. The darting movement of Sabine's own eyes showed she was preparing for the same thing he was. Their movement sure, their desire clear, he closed his eyes.

The feeling was nearly indescribable. As his lips met hers he felt his heart freeze and the world seemed to melt away, completely cancelled out by the electrifying feeling of their kiss. It was soft at first, neither one sure how to do this properly. Within an instant though, it became instinctive, as the two gave way to months of bottled up emotions and drawn out tension. Their first kiss broke only for a second before their lips crashed together again. This time with more force, more desire, more passion and more confidence. Sabine brought her other hand up and tugged gently on his shirt, pulling him in to deepen the kiss. Ezra had no idea how long it lasted, a few seconds? A few minutes? He didn't know, right now he didn't care. All he knew was that this moment was one he didn't want to end. Breathing, for the first time in his life, was something he wished he never had to do. The couple pushed on as long as they could, but after a while they slowly and reluctantly pulled apart.

She leaned her forehead toward him as he did the same, letting them rest on each other and keeping their lips close together as they caught their breath. Ezra slowly opened his eyes to meet the gorgeous orbs of the girl he loved.

"I love you, Sabine Wren." After what they'd shared, it wasn't as difficult to know what to say.

With a smile happier than anything he'd seen from her before, she kissed him for only a second before pulling away again, "I love you too, Ezra Bridger."

Their lips met again once, twice and a handful more times. The effect was narcotic, the more he kissed her the more he needed to kiss her. It was her who picked up the pace, introducing a little more force and a few kisses in she gently brushed her tongue against his lips. More than happy to oblige, Ezra relented and danced his own tongue around her mouth. Their kisses were eager, hungry, excited and just a little bit unprofessional. It didn't matter how inexperienced they were, everything about this was more perfect than they could hope for. After a moment their pace slowed and their lips disconnected. She lay her head on him as she had that morning and his arm wrapped around her to hold her tight.

Ezra had expected his mind would be racing with thoughts right now but it was completely the opposite. He was calm, relaxed and completely in the moments. His galaxy, for all he cared, only existed in the few metres on top of this temple.

Smiling down at the Mandalorian, he planted a kiss on top of her head, "I've waited years to do that."

Sabine placed her own kiss somewhere on his chest, unwilling to move from her position, "Worth the wait?"

"Better than I'd ever dreamed it would be."

She buried her head deeper in her chest, holding him as close as she could. "I-" She began, but stopped before she continued. "I'm sorry."

 _You're sorry? You've been nothing but perfect, how could you need to be sorry?"_ Ezra gave her a confused look, "For what?"

Her beautiful eyes looked straight at his, "I'm sorry for turning you down all those times. I just hadn't made my mind up at the beginning and by the time I knew how I felt I didn't know how to say it." Ezra could swear he saw a tear slide down her cheek, "I should have told you, when I stayed on Krownest. I knew I could never see you again and I'd never have forgiven myself if I'd never told you."

"Sabine-", his voice broke as he wiped the single tear from her cheek, "You don't have to apologise for anything. We were both nervous, we both didn't know. All that matters is where we are now." He met her lips again for a lingering kiss, hoping to cheer her up.

The Mandalorian held the position for a moment before reopening her eyes to look at him, "How'd I get so lucky to have you?"

Ezra smiled at her and shook his head, _I'm the lucky one here, I mean look at you._ "Lucky enough for the weird Jedi with the big nose and gangly arms?"

An elbow gently jabbed his side, "With the perfect eyes, handsome face, loving heart and cutest smile."

"Hey, you're not denying the nose or arm part. Or the weird part."

"The first two, yeah I deny them. Last part not so much." She kissed him on the cheek and grinned up at him, "The best people are always a little odd."

He cupped her cheek with his hand and took in the sight of her face, "A hard-ass Mandalorian explosives expert with an artistic side and an addiction to hugging me? I can deal with that kind of weird."

"One who fell in love with a Jedi to boot. I just can't be normal can I?", her glowing smile captured him again and he couldn't help but stare lovingly at her.

"You're so perfect." Sabine couldn't hide her blush, and any attempt to avert her eyes from him were stopped by the magnetic draw of his own.

"So what are we now? I don't think friends covers it anymore." Sabine asked.

"We can be, you know, official. If you want to be?" The Jedi's hands pulled hers up to his lips before kissing them.

Sabine almost lunged at him again, capturing his mouth with his own. Ezra was loving her outbursts of affection, they told him how that his love for her was equalled by her own. "I'd love that", Sabine said after pulling away. "Are we going to tell people about us?"

Ezra hadn't thought of that. He didn't see a reason to announce it to the galaxy just yet. He wanted some time with her to think things through, to settle in to everything. The dreaded thought then came to his head. _Thrawn._ He knew Thrawn's tactics well enough that he'd exploit any advantage he could take. Ezra shuddered to think of how he might try and manipulate them if he had any clue about their relationship. Back in the days of Kallus or Tarkin, he wouldn't have to worry. For Thrawn though, every action had to be cautionary.

His thoughts were interrupted by Sabine's hands pulling his face back to look at her, the concerned look on her face showing that she knew he was being troubled by something, "What's wrong?" she asked worryingly.

"It's nothing," he muttered. _Don't ruin this for her by saying it now, talk about that later._ "How about we keep it in the family for now. Just Hera, Kanan and Zeb."

She smiled happily, "That sounds right, I'd like to keep it close for now." Again she leaned back down to cuddle up to his chest, "I might tell my parents though. I'm sure they'd like to know their daughter is dating a Jedi."

 _Karabast. Is that even allowed?_ Alrich seemed to like him well enough, but Ursa was so unreadable that he couldn't tell if she hated him. _It's only because I'm a Jedi. "_ Do you think they'll mind? I thought Mandalorains didn't like Jedi."

"They like you, you'd know for sure if they didn't." Sabine chuckled softly to herself, "Besides, it doesn't matter. I love you no matter what they say."

"I love you too."

They set their gaze out on the now blackened jungle, their illuminated view from earlier had now faded away. Quietly, the young couple took in every sight and sound and burned it all into a precious, unforgettable memory.

"I have to paint this view sometime. It's too beautiful not to." Sabine still sounded in awe of the sight.

"That's a good idea. Not the most beautiful thing I've seen though", Ezra said, gentry brushing her hair with his hand. _I can't resist it._

Sabine rolled her eyes playfully, "I might have to call this off if you keep up with those awful attempts at flirting."

Ezra smiled to himself, "You don't mean that. You know you love it."

"I love you, I guess that's enough."

Silence fell again and Ezra shut his eyes. _Damn, I could sleep like this._ It was still a new feeling, having her so close to him but he loved every second of it. The smooth rhythm of her breathing or the slight subtle movements she'd make to nuzzle herself closer to him. Her fingers traced lazily across his stomach, playing with the fabric of his shirt and tracing the outlines of his muscles beneath.

Sabine adjusted herself and turned her head up to him, "I've been meaning to ask. Did you tell Kanan about us?"

 _Uh, maybe? Just a little bit._ He thought for a moment. _Okay, I told him a lot of it._ "Yeah he kinda asked after Krownest."

"I thought he might have." _Phew, at least she's not angry._ _"_ Is that what you were talking about with him on the flight back?"

Ezra's mind replayed the conversation and more importantly their other close encounter that his Master had interrupted. "He sensed my feelings I think. I told him how I felt about you and how much I missed you." Ezra wasn't sure how she'd feel knowing he'd told her more, but he wasn't going to be dishonest with her, "I also told him about that night. About the hug and you sleeping in my arms and everything." _Well, I didn't tell him everything. Certain things he didn't really need to know._

She seemed a little surprised and cleared her throat a bit, "So, uh, when he interrupted us in the cockpit he knew? And he's known ever since?"

"I guess. It's not like he saw us, is it?" Ezra had become slowly more comfortable with the jokes Kanan had started to enjoy making, "He probably sensed it. And if he sensed it then he probably sensed it before too."

He felt the slight squeeze of her arms around him once more, "You're right, he would have noticed. I've got to be honest too. I spoke to Hera about it earlier, just for some advice."

It wasn't that surprising now he thought about it. Hera was almost a mother to them both and it made sense that Sabine could confide in her about her feelings. "What did you say to her?"

Sabine slightly laughed through her nose, "I started asking her about Kanan. I thought, 'Hey if someone has advice on how to love a Jedi, she would'." The girl smiled to herself, "Of course she figured out pretty quickly why I'd asked. Apparently Kanan had mentioned his little talk with you to her. It was easy enough for her to put two and two together."

 _Of course she did. Hera's too good at being a mom, I hope her and Kanan have some of their own someday._ "So what did you actually tell her?"

"I told her how I felt, that I was pretty sure I loved you and also that I was pretty sure you loved me too. I said I needed advice on how to tell you," Sabine stared up at him with loving eyes, "I also said we'd come close a couple times and that I was going crazy just waiting for it. Also thanked her for interrupting us this morning."

 _This morning._ If Kanan and Hera had been a second later they would have walked in on them sharing their first kiss. _I'm glad we waited, even if it was frustrating._ This morning wasn't just that though, there was a fair bit of _teasing._ Ezra smirked to himself, fondly remembering the more ' _mature'_ side to their blossoming romance. "I hope you didn't tell her about everything."

The Mandalorian perked up with a knowing smirk of her own, "Don't worry I didn't tell her _everything._ Some of it was just for us to know about."

In an instant their mouths met again, this time they didn't wait to introduce their tongues. It was more passionate than their previous kisses and it made Ezra hungry for more. They didn't break for a few seconds, savouring every moment, and when they did she temptingly bit his bottom lip as they parted. Sabine's eyes had that telltale look from earlier that morning, barely disguising a wave of desire from the girl. She fought it though and nestled back into him.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I might have been a bit forward."

Ezra's eyes widened, "Sorry? I'm not going to complain one bit." He loved her in lots of ways, but he'd be lying if she didn't drive him crazy in that way. Her demanding physical life had toned her body to perfection and it certainly didn't escape the teenager's notice. Defintiely he loved her for so much more than her sex appeal but, _damn did she have it._

Sabine laughed slightly, "I know. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, completely the opposite. I was tired and so were you, I just kind of lost my self control."

"Hey I didn't stop you", the Jedi replied. _You couldn't have if you tried._ The moment she started she had him completely under her spell.

The girl's hand went back to tracing his abdomen with just a bit more pressure than before, "I can't blame it all on me. It's your fault I couldn't help myself."

Of all the things he'd learned about her in the last few days, it was this side of her that surprised him the most. Maybe someone so expressive through art was more able to express those kinds of things, or maybe it was just a quiet secret she kept hidden from everyone. _Whatever the reason, she's damn good at it._ One suggestive sentence or one teasing look and she had him wrapped around her finger. _She hasn't done this before, has she?_ It wasn't something he'd thought about. He'd never stopped to think if she'd ever found romance with anyone in her time at home or in the Academy or on her adventures with Ketsu.

"Hey, I have to ask. Have you ever been with anyone before? Like this?" Ezra nervously stroked her arm with his hand.

"No, never. Some people tried flirting with me or being sweet. Others were, uh, less restrained." _Less restrained? I don't need you to tell me what they wanted._ "All they ever got was a knee in-between their legs. The sweet ones got a polite no, but no one got anything else. How about you? Your smooth talking earn you anything back on Lothal?"

He laughed to himself, "I was never like that. I never had friends to talk to anyway." Sabine held his hand, taking the comment as if he was upset about. _It wasn't the best childhood, but I'm okay._

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of that.", she apologised as she held him tightly.

"Don't worry, I'm okay." Leaning his head back, he smiled. There was something special about being the first one to see this side of her. "So I'm your first kiss then?"

To his surprise, the motion of her hand on his body stopped abruptly, "Uh, not exactly."

 _Not exactly? What's that supposed to mean?_ He jerked slightly, accidentally causing her to sit up a bit. "I thought you said you never had anyone before?"

"It wasn't anything serious. Just at the Academy, we were teenagers. Teenagers play spin the bottle, it wasn't anything romantic." Ezra couldn't hide a hint of jealousy, some Imperial had kissed her before he had. Sabine instantly detected his hurt and pecked his cheek. "It wasn't anything special and it was a few years ago. I didn't love him, I barely knew him. It felt like nothing that time, not like this."

 _It was years ago, she didn't even know you. There's no reason to be jealous._ Ezra sighed,"Sorry, I don't mean to be jealous about it."

With a smile she brushed a hand on his cheek, "It's cute, actually. I can't say I wouldn't be the same. You're mine, not some other girl's." _Mine_ _._ Hearing her say that was almost surreal.

"Yours, huh?" Ezra rested his forehead on hers, bringing their lips close again.

"Mine. For as long as I live.", she declared, drawing him in for a soft, lingering kiss.

They stayed that way for more than a few minutes, slowly and passionately sharing their moment together. Sabine lifted her legs from her sitting position and draped them over his, pulling herself in closer to get a better angle for him. Ezra dropped his hand from her arm and placed it on her waist to pull her in tighter. Over time, their softer kisses became deeper. This time Ezra hinted with his tongue for more and she happily gave in. Her own hands moved from his cheek to his back to draw him in against her. The intensity of it didn't stop and only seemed to grow over time. The Mandalorian kicked it up a gear, again lightly nibbling at his lip at the times they'd break for a breath. It didn't seem to be enough for her though, and her hands slowly started tracing their way around his back, feeling ever inch of him she could reach. _Damn. How did you get so good at this?_ Ezra matched her actions, exploring her with his hands. The metal of her armour got in the way a bit, but it didn't do anything to curtail his desire for her.

During one of their brief breaks, she pulled back a bit further and looked at him. Those sultry eyes were all the explanation he needed for her actions. Her hand moved around from his back to the front of him and slowly down across his abs. _You have a thing for those, don't you?_ But they weren't her goal. Her hand traced lower, and lower. Lower still. _Karabast, is she going to...?_

Her fingers tugged at the top of his belt, "You know," her voice dripping with lust, "Hera and Kanan should still be out. We have the Ghost to ourselves for a bit..."

Not a single implication was lost on him. Ezra bit his lip, "Do you want to head back? It is getting cold out here." Cold definitely wasn't the reason they wanted to hurry to the ship.

Sabine smirked devilishly, "If you wouldn't mind. I'm not sure when we're going to get some alone time again and I want to make the most of it". Her fingers found themselves reaching just slightly under his belt for only a second before she pulled them away.

She pulled back from him, knowing every action was driving him over the edge. Standing up, she reached out her hand and pulled him up. _I'm not done with you yet._

As soon as he was up, he pulled her into another kiss. Standing was different to sitting, it gave him more access to every piece of her. She responded immediately, kissing back enthusiastically and pressing herself up against him. Her arms slung around his neck, refusing to let go. Ezra's hands rested on her waist and as the kiss deepened he let one drop lower on her. For a second, he hesitated before doing so, not wanting to go too far too quickly, but her soft murmur of pleasure was the permission he needed. Her hand rested on her butt, a feeling he'd admittedly dreamt of more than once. It pushed him even further, but she seemed to love it more. His other hand followed letting him pull her up to kiss him and in at the waist, the motion telling each other exactly what they wanted.

It was Ezra who broke their kiss, albeit very reluctantly. Their eyes met again, knowing what they wanted now. "Come on let's go, not here." For what was about to happen, he didn't want it exposed in the cold on some old Temple. It was going to be safe, familiar and personal to both of them.

With a final deep kiss, she clasped his hand to draw him to the stairs that led them down the temple. When they reached the foot of the structure they both took a second to look back at it, appreciating the site where their lives had just changed. A gentle tug of his hand got Ezra's attention, making him look at the woman he loved.

Smiling at him, she went to speak, "Hey...", she gently untucked her hands from his, never breaking eye contact. "Last one there's a nerf-herder."

She was running in an instant, her laughter echoing around the clearing. He on the other hand couldn't move. How this girl, one minute ago so filled with lust, could instantaneously switch to her normal playful demeanour was beyond him. The Jedi watched her go skipping into the trees where she paused and look to see if he was following. With her hand she called him over before continuing on.

It took him a moment to chase after her, but he did so grinning uncontrollably. _I love you. I love you so much._

* * *

 **I didn't expect to be writing again this soon but there we are. So this was _the_ chapter. The one we've been building to over the last three. The next one will be a kind of epilogue, I know most people enjoy the build-up stories more than the 'already together' ones. I've really enjoyed writing this one, but I think I'm going to be doing a couple of one-shot things after this. I've got a few ideas running around my head, some general, a few Kanera and a boatload of Ezrabine. So even though this particular story is coming to an end, I'm definitely not done with writing for Rebels or these two characters. I'll talk more about my future plans after next chapter I think, I don't want to get ahead of myself.**

 **Again, I'll reiterate a point I made last time. There will be nothing graphic or "Lemony" in this story. I half feel I went a bit overboard with some of it this time but I'll leave it as it is. Sorry to anyone who doesn't want the more sexualised stuff in the story, it's just how I saw this playing out in a more realistic world. Teenagers want to experiment, I thought 'Hey, why not?'. Still, the stuff on top of the Temple is about as far as I'll go. Besides, Ezra is 17, that's not even legal some places and I don't fancy touching that issue with a 10-foot hypothetical pole.**

 **Adding on to my earlier resolutions on how to change my writing, I think I couldn't help myself with "smiled" and "laughed" but I seemed to use "seemingly" less, at least it seemed that way. Seemingly. Lastly, I'll apologise for the wall of exposition that I tend to open chapters with, I think it's a warm-up exercise for me or something.**

 **Anyways, I won't put a time limit or expectation on the conclusion to this story, but I'm hopefully going to get it done soon. I know what I want to do and how I want to handle it. I hope people liked this chapter and I look forward to tying this up next time.**

Kind Regards - Lothcat1138


	5. 5: A Night And A Morning On Yavin

**So, here's the final main entry in this story, over 3 months after the initial chapter. I'm sorry I took so long between 2 and 3 especially and I'm sorry for keeping people waiting. .**

 **I've spent time in every introduction saying this, and I'll say it again; I can't thank people enough for the amount of feedback and support from everyone who has read this story. This stands for the whole story as well as the last chapter, the level of encouragement and motivation it's given me has been beyond fantastic. I was always nervous about writing again and I think every writer doesn't really like their own work as much as they like other people's, but I'm really grateful you guys gave me the confidence to write again, regardless of how I or anyone else views what I've done.**

 **Season 4 is maddeningly close now I can almost taste it. I'm trying to balance my excitement for more Rebels with my abject misery when it's all over. I've been a bit up and down about whether I think we'll see Sabine and Ezra become a couple in the show, but recent _developments_ have me a bit more optimistic. If you don't know what I'm referring to, there were 3 music tracks released last week accidentally that might foreshadow some moments for different characters in the second half of Season 4. It's all subjective and speculation, but a lot of people are leaning towards a certain interpretation of one of them that I'm more than happy to see happen. Someone managed to save them and upload them to You Tube so if you're interested, here's the link to a playlist of them:**

 **BEWARE - EVEN THE TITLES MIGHT BE MASSIVELY SPOILERY, CLICK/LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK.**

 **POSSIBLE SPOILERS - watch?v=IOE4QeplMWw &list=PLjh52SxaTjvjHdpMBOmzsnQT53NVx7jWq - POSSIBLE SPOILERS**

 **You're seemingly unable to paste in the "www." part, so just paste it in after the standard You Tube address and you'll get the playlist.**

 **It shouldn't take much to figure out which one in particular piqued my interest relating to our Mandalorian/Jedi duo. However, I will say all three are phenomenal, some of the best from the show. All three are pretty emotional and it's breaking my heart thinking about what each one could mean.**

 **Anyway, I've veered off enough. I'll leave my future plans for my writing at the end. For now we finish it out where we began, from Sabine's perspective.**

* * *

 **"** Hey, no fair!", came the nearly breathless voice a few metres behind her, "You had a head start."

Sabine was standing at the Ghost's entry ramp, a little out of breath herself from the running, and she turned back to look at the black-haired Jedi who was following her.

"Yeah and you have the force. I'd say that makes it even", she laughed.

Ezra had slowed and was walking slowly up the ramp to her. With a wry smile, he reached out and put his hands on her waist with a grin, "I guess that makes me a nerf-herder then".

She reached up and pecked him lightly on the lips, "I don't think I can settle for a nerf-herder." Sabine placed her own hands on his sides, holding him close to her. _I'd settle for you no matter what you were._

Ezra cocked his eyebrow, "Oh? I'd better prove to you I'm more than that". Ezra closed his eyes, denying Sabine the view of those breathtakingly blue orbs.

 _What are you doing?_ Things were quiet for a few seconds, Sabine puzzling at her newfound boyfriend as he stood almost perfectly still. So focused on figuring him out was she that she it took a few seconds seconds to notice the odd sensation and the slightly changing level of him compared to her. _Wait? Wha-_

She looked down to see a few inches of air between her feet and the ground. "Ezra! Put me down!", she'd tried to sound angry and firm, but the odd sensation coupled with the now hysterical laughter of Ezra couldn't let her summon the tone. Within a moment, she was laughing as well.

It wasn't what she'd expected flying without a jetpack to be like. Or what it'd be like to be lifted by the force. Not that she'd spent much time thinking about either of those things. The sensation was unusual and strangely calming, perhaps it was the amount of focus and care he'd not only taken to lift her up but to keep her steady and safe all throughout. Gently and slowly, she floated back down to the deck as Ezra wrapped his arms around her as she regained her balance.

Sabine gave him a less than halfhearted slap on the shoulder, "Tell me when you're going to do that next time."

Ezra smiled and looked lovingly at her, "I'll have to see. As long as you don't call me a nerf-herder again."

His arms pulled her in for a deep embrace, letting her rest her head across his chest. The arrangement was about as perfect as Sabine could ask for. Even without the ability to sense his emotions through the force, Sabine could feel every bit of love and affection pouring off him. _He really loves you, doesn't he?_ That wasn't really in question anymore, not after tonight. The feeling was new though and it made her heart soar each time she focused on it. With everything she'd been through in her life; war, betrayal, abandonment, loss, heartache - this made it feel all worthwhile. No matter all she'd seen and done, she had this happiness. _For now, that's enough for me._

"I love you," she mumbled into him as she relaxed into his arms.

The young man's head lifted, placing a series of kisses on her cheek and down to her neck. He paused after reaching her neck and brought his head back up, "I love you more."

Sabine pulled herself away to look directly at the man she loved, her eyes finding his instantly. "Liar", she replied with a smirk.

The Mandalorian pressed her lips on his again, a feeling she couldn't seem to get enough of. While they'd only kissed a handful of times so far, they had both learned quickly. By the second time they'd nailed the breathing part and the next they'd worked out how to mix in more passion and action into it. Each time was an improvement on the last, and this was no different. It might have been the shock wearing off that made her more attuned to everything as they went on. Sure, the first kiss was amazing, but as she got in her element she only ended up enjoying it more.

Almost subconsciously, she'd introduced her tongue to his clear approval, and their impassioned exchange was reminding them of why they'd rushed so quickly back to the Ghost. Tracing her hands around his back, she pulled him into her, craving a closeness neither could really describe. In a swift motion, Ezra let his hands fall below her waist, earning an amused giggle from the girl. His mouth broke from hers but the kissing didn't stop as he moved them down her cheek and into the crook of her neck. _Dammit Ezra, how'd you get so good at this?_

"Not here", she gasped as his lips stopped moving on her neck, "Upstairs. Someone will see us."

It didn't take a second for her to slide out from his arms, grasping his hand and drawing him toward the ladder out of the cargo hold. _This is happening, this is really happening._ Sabine found herself biting her lip in anticipation as she climbed the ladder, _why did we wait so long to do this?_

At the top, Sabine waited and pulled Ezra up, rushing him forward towards her room. The door into the common area hissed open as she led him. In an instant she'd stopped in her tracks. _Oh you've got to be kidding._

"Well look who it is. You two have fun out there?" Zeb laughed. Sat at the table was the Lasat as well as Kallus and Rex. The faced down cards, amassed pile of credits and the cheery expression on the Lasat showed a game of Pazaak had just ended.

Sabine was fortunate to have been holding Ezra's hand behind her so she could let go of it quickly, they weren't ready to announce it to the whole galaxy yet. At least she hadn't grabbed him and pushed him through the door as she kissed him. _Not that the thought didn't cross my mind._

"H-hey guys." Ezra muttered awkwardly, "What are you guys doing here?" Behind her, Ezra rubbed his neck nervously and a blush appeared on his cheeks. _Great job Ezra, really inconspicuous._

"What does it look like, we were playing Pazaak", Zeb grinned, "Until I won about ten seconds ago." The men around the table grimaced and sighed.

"No way you didn't pull that card out of your boot." Rex chuckled lightheartedly.

"Awh, I think someone's a sore loser." Zeb patted his clone friend on the back.

The Mandalorian still wasn't all that amused and she scowled at him, "I thought Hera said you weren't here this evening."

Kallus smirked at the two teenagers, "According to Zeb, you weren't here this evening."

Sabine's eyes darted back to the Lasat, "And why did you think we weren't?", she demanded, her voice coming off a bit sharper than she'd intended.

Zeb reclined in the chair, focusing mostly on the small pile of credits he'd just earned, "Well when I saw you two running off into the jungle I figured you'd be gone for a while. The back of the hangar isn't the best place for a game, so I thought we'd come in here."

 _Of course he saw us, that's our luck._ Sabine sighed, "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. It doesn't make a difference to us if you're here or not", she replied, attempting to sound passive about the whole thing.

"Right, I'm sure it doesn't." Zeb laughed at his crewmate.

"Come now, Zeb. You're embarrassing them", Kallus chuckled.

"Shut it, Alexsandr", her voice showing a hint of humour mixed in with her frustration.

With a snort Kallus looked over at Ezra, "You're a brave one, Bridger. She's got a temper."

Ezra wasn't the best at being put on the spot. "Well you know Mandalorians," he fumbled, earning him a firm glare from Sabine. "Wait. I didn't mean that."

With a small grin Sabine rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks, Ezra. Good to know you have my back."

The exchange set Zeb to laughing again, "You two really don't help yourselves you know."

The Mandalorian sighed, she knew she'd lost the contest of jokes, "Whatever you say, Zeb. We're going to my quarters." She wanted to pinch herself as soon as she'd finished the sentence.

"Oh, 'we' is it?", Kallus questioned.

It took a lot of effort for Sabine to hide her embarrassment at her slip up, she didn't want them to know how right they'd been about everything. "What? We always spend time catching up in my quarters."

"As long as you don't make too much noise, I don't want any distractions when I'm winning my credits back," the old clone said as he winked at Zeb.

The Lasat perked up and leaned in, "You're on, old timer. Kallus, you in?"

"I suppose one more couldn't hurt", the man answered as he pulled out another small handful of credits.

Zeb looked up to the two teenagers standing awkwardly across the room, "You two in or you busy?"

Sabine wasted no time answering for both of them, "Thanks but we've got some things to do. From the mission yesterday and all that."

For a second, Zeb's eyes seemed to read through her words and she could swear he might have actually been on to them. She almost expected him to question them, but the look faded as soon as it appeared. "Eh, suit yourself. Only means I'll take more of these two's credits", he boasted as he gathered the Pazaak deck into his hands.

As the men began dealing out the cards again Sabine glanced over at Ezra, without words telling him it was time to go, and walked out through the door that led to the cockpit and the crew's quarters. Ezra exchanged another awkward look with Zeb and the others before following her through. Sabine wheeled around as she reached her door to make sure they were out of sight. When the door to the common area closed behind him, she tapped on the controls of her own room and waited for him to go inside. Straight on his heels, Sabine slipped inside and the door slid closed.

Ezra stood in the middle of the room, looking around at the artwork that dotted her walls and bunk. He'd been in here plenty of times before and Sabine hadn't added anything new since she'd returned, but he always made an effort to admire her work. Sure he didn't understand who her inspiration was or what many of them were meant to represent, but seeing him make the effort to show he liked them warmed her heart. Checking over her room, she wished she'd cleaned up a bit. A few pieces of clothes were bundled in a corner and her desk had a mess of paper and canvas that she hadn't gotten around to starting as well as a half-drunk mug and an empty dish of food from the day before. It was a mess but he didn't seem to mind at all.

Sabine just looked him up and down, a look of both frustration and adoration showing on her. After his little inspection of her quarters, his eyes locked on hers for a few seconds. The gaze was still magnetic to her, and at least now she could act on the urges it gave her. In a heartbeat she was back in his arms, nuzzling comfortably into his chest.

"I guess that changes our plans", she whispered to him.

Her boyfriend's hands stroked her back and shoulders as he embraced her, "I don't mind." His hands paused for a second, "Well, I do, but, you know. I've waited this long, I can wait some more. Any time spent with you is perfect."

His answer made her smile into his chest. Having him prove to her yet again that he meant it when he said he loved her made her heart flutter. He wasn't in this to get in her, his love for her wasn't some teenage hormonal crush, it was much more real. The last few days had shown her that already, even in the last few years with him she'd seen him prove himself as someone who'd go to the edges of known and unknown space for her, but to see it again with everything out in the open was a feeling she didn't know if she'd ever get used to.

She'd be lying if she wasn't more than a little bit annoyed and a part of her even now just wanted to throw him down on the bed and get on with it, but prudence won out. Having sex with someone was completely different to making love and she definitely wanted the latter option. They might have to wait but she'd happily trade a million nights of mindless sex for just one of real, passionate intimacy.

"You're really something, Ezra Bridger."

Ezra gave her an affectionate squeeze in his arms, "So what shall we do anyway?" Sabine's eyes looked straight over to her bunk and Ezra's followed them. She smiled up at him and he raised his eyebrow with a cocky grin, "Oh? Really can't wait, huh?"

The girl kissed him on the cheek as she leaned up, "Not like that." Her lips snuck up to his ear and she brushed it lightly with her tongue, "Unfortunately..."

Ezra pulled her in close, her actions clearly having the intended effect, "You know you're going to have to stop tempting me like that."

Sabine gave him another deep kiss as they stood in each other's arms. As she pulled away she smiled again, "Not on your life." She brought him in for a hug again, "But I meant like on Krownest."

The night had stuck with her every minute since. The feeling of comfort, care and security was unlike anything she'd experienced and she'd wished for it again every night. Now there wasn't any more waiting, no more than the minute or so it would take to get ready for sleep and fall into each other's arms.

"That sounds amazing too", Ezra said to her as he slowly lessened his hold on her. "You don't think Hera will ask questions? Or Zeb?"

"Not until the morning and I guess we'll tell them then anyway", the girl answered as she left his arms and looked around her room. The Jedi watched her scan her quarters with a contented grin on his face. She paced around for a few seconds looking intently before finding some suitable sleepwear. Bundling them in her hands, she looked over at him, "Go on. Turn around."

He obliged and turned to face the door as she pulled her top over her head, "I'm assuming same arrangement as the first time?", Ezra inquired.

She stopped what she was doing to answer him, "If you don't mind", she teased. _Of course he won't mind._

"Alright", Ezra replied casually. As Sabine returned to getting dressed, she noticed Ezra's sudden movement as he pulled his shirt straight over his head.

Her room's lighting wasn't the best but she could clearly see the strong muscles in his back and shoulders. _He's right there, Sabine._ Sabine had stopped moving and rustling the clothes, her mind racing with a swirling mass of thoughts. _You're here, half dressed, he's there, same situation._ She found herself biting her lip, _and you know he wants to._ Ezra appeared to have noticed her hesitation and the lack of noise she was making, turning his head slightly but not enough to let himself peak.

"You just going to stand there the whole time? Hurry up, it's cold without a shirt on", He jested. _Dammit, he's knows what I'm thinking doesn't he? Well, it'd warm him up..._

With a bit of hesitation she carried on with her task. _Come on Sabine, you're acting more like a teenage boy than he is._ They'd rushed back to the Ghost with only one plan in mind and she'd have give him everything in a heartbeat if they were on their own. _But you're not alone, now isn't the time._ As a fresh set of under-layer slid up over her hips, she sighed to herself. _We both can wait, we both deserve better than an awkward attempt to keep quiet with a crowd of people in the next room._

Satisfied with her choice of dress, she haphazardly tossed her old attire off to the side and walked up behind Ezra, sliding her hands around his waist from behind, earning a noticeable jolt of shock from him, and resting her head on his back. The contact had surprised him clearly but in a second he'd rubbed his own hands down her arms and held them gently on his stomach. She'd felt his bare skin before although something about it was different now, it was much more personal and intimate in an emotional way. Neither moved for a moment, both simply enjoying the closeness of the other.

After a while Sabine began to slide her arms away, "I'm ready, let's get to bed."

Her own hands found his and pulled him with her to the edge of the bunk. Sabine didn't hesitate to lie down, shuffling in as close to the wall as she could to let him have all the space he needed. Comfortable in her position, Ezra leaned down and crawled in beside her as Sabine pulled away the blanket ready to throw it over them both. She let him get comfortable first, until he stopped shifting and moving, before draping the sheet over his body with her arm and leaving her arm wrapped over him. Ezra reached his arm out, sliding it behind her neck and causing her head to fall perfectly on his chest, holding her close to him. Sabine tightened her arms around for a moment, as if trying to convince herself that he was really there lying next to her.

They both went quiet, taking their own time to process everything. The feeling of her arm pulled around him, of her head rising and falling slightly as he breathed, his fingers tracing barely noticeable patterns on her shoulder from behind. There wasn't anything she could say to him to tell him how much she'd needed this or how perfect it was now they were here. Deep down she knew he felt the same way, there was no need to try and tell him.

"I love you, I've missed this." Ezra said in a hushed tone, his eyes having slid closed in the time they'd been lying still.

Sabine let her own eyelids droop as she settled in for the night, nuzzling her cheek against his bare skin, "I love you too, Ezra."

The peace and quiet reminded her just how tired she was. Barely any sleep last night, working all day and then the emotional ride of her evening with Ezra had drained her of her energy in a way she'd only now realised. She didn't mind one bit. _I'm exactly where I'd want to be._

* * *

The timed lighting woke Sabine up quite abruptly on most days. Since coming back from Mandalore, she'd still not gotten use to the artificial light waking her rather than the natural one. Most days it put her in a sour mood for the first few minutes of the morning, but today nothing could drag her down. She was curled up against him, her back to the wall and his arm holding her close. Her arms hooked around his chest as he lay on his back allowing her head to sleep soundly on his shoulder. He hadn't woken up yet, he was always a heavy sleeper. The worries of the previous morning hadn't troubled her last night, all she could focus on was the intoxicating presence of the man she loved being grasped tightly in her arms. Knowing Ezra from her years on the Ghost, he'd be asleep for a while yet. Not that she minded, just lying here with him was a whole new level of perfect.

From her comfortable perch she let her eyes drift around, first to take a proper look at the man she spent the night cuddling. The blanket was down barely above his belly button, giving her a clear view of his torso. She'd never had a good look before, only fleeting glimpses in daylight or longer ones when it was too dark to see much. Ezra's even tanned tone didn't stop at his face clearly, and his entire body had a smooth lightly olive tone. The muscles she'd caught herself leering at more than a few times were every bit as firm and defined as she'd thought. Ezra wasn't just cute, he was hot. _You knew that already, come on._ Over the years, particularly on Atollon, she'd noticed the odd female pilot throw him a lingering look, even some of the male ones too. Initially it was out of curiosity that she noticed the attention he got given, over time it was out of a weird sort of jealousy and protectiveness. _He was yours even before you told him, even before you told yourself._ Ezra never noticed the attention he'd gain or if he did he never acknowledged it. She'd had her theories as to why he never responded and maybe after all it was because his heart was set on someone else.

It was only now though she noticed everything else on him. The scar, the cuts, the scrapes, the bruises. He'd been a warrior for years, it was to be expected. Before that, life on the street couldn't have been easy or entirely safe. In her head she'd always known he must have taken a beating over the years but to see it laid bare made her feel sympathy for him. Sabine had plenty of her own, and admittedly both of them had earned the odd mark from their training sessions together, but a strange feeling on protectionism washed over her. _He is mine and be damned if I'm letting him get hurt on my watch._ It was a foolish promise she knew, their line of work made injury an inevitability, but the least she could do would be to protect the one she loved as best she could.

The blanket, to her chagrin, wouldn't let her look any lower on him. The Mandalorian smiled to herself, _time for that another day._ After her little exploration of him, she let her eyes trace around her room. It was still a mess but it was home, more so with him sleeping peacefully beside her. Then her eye caught something on the other side of the room. A square of pure white with a scrawl of elegant writing over it, taped to the back of her door. She squinted her eyes in the dimmed light to read it.

 _Breakfast is made, hope you two had a good night_

 _\- Hera xx_

She'd have face-palmed if she wasn't too comfortable to move. _We didn't lock the door._ Her eyes closed in a hint of frustration. _She saw us._ To be fair it was her ship and she had a right to see where her crew was, and it wasn't unusual for Hera to check on them before she turned in for the night or after she woke up. Sabine smiled to herself. _I doubt she was surprised to see us like this._ Hera seemed to have a good handle on what was going on between them since Sabine had told her, knowing what advice Sabine would need and playing her part to give them the time they needed to make it happen. _I have to remember to say thank you properly._

The note itself was more evidence of Hera's love for them too. Everything was done on datapads these days; mission briefings, debriefings, reports, news, plans, everything. Hera, while using technology for critical things, always made an effort to get personal for the crew of the Ghost. Notes of encouragement, little chores, personal messages; the stuff that wasn't important to missions or orders, were always done on paper. Sabine had questioned her about it not long after she joined the crew and the Twilek had told her it made it more personal. Datapads were for rebels and crew, paper was for family. It was Hera's way of putting a personal touch and letting people know she cared in her own special way. It was just one other thing that had endeared the Ghost's captain to her over the years.

Sabine rested her head back down, taking her mind off the note. Her attention went back to Ezra, still soundly asleep. _Looking at the time, it'd probably be best to wake him up._ Sabine couldn't bring herself to force him awake with a slap or a tickle. Instead she let her hand, previously sprawled over his chest overnight, gently curl up to let her trace her fingers across his skin. She hoped the gentle swirling sensation of her fingers would ease him awake, and she was right. After a minute or so she felt his arm twitch and his head lazily fall to one side. Her eyes were waiting for his as they opened.

"Morning, beautiful", he mumbled in a groggy and tired voice.

His lips brushed hers lightly as he squeezed her in tightly. "Morning, handsome."

Ezra turned over on his side to face her, bringing his other arm over and draping it around the Mandalorian, "Why'd you wake me up?".

Sabine nestled into the hug, relishing in the security and closeness it gave her. "You can't sleep all day, nerf-herder. Hera's made breakfast already, she left a note."

The Jedi made a half-hearted attempt to give her a questioning look but seemed too tired to commit to it. "Note?"

"On the door."

"Wait. She's been in here?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Sabine kept clasping to him, "Probably. She won't say anything until we do though, I wouldn't worry."

The young man laughed through his nose a bit, "Given what you've told her, she's probably not surprised."

Sabine let her eyes sink closed again as she relaxed into the embrace. There was nowhere else she'd rather be than here, like this, with him. Looking back over their time together, she doubted she'd have guessed they'd end up like this all those years ago. That short, awe-struck boy with the shaggy hair and over-eager ambitions in women. The kid with pick-up lines so terrible she was surprised she didn't roll her eyes out of their sockets. That loth-rat who's first instinct was to steal from them and crawl through through the vents of their ship. The mumbling idiot who tripped over his words trying to speak to her with enthusiastic but always rebuked efforts to compliment her whenever he could. And now here he was, older, taller, stronger and lying half naked in her bed with his arms wrapped lovingly around her.

 _Huh_ , _best love story ever._ It wasn't love at first sight, not from her anyway, and she was sure that it was more a crush from him at first. It was like Hera said with her and Kanan, it was one-sided at first and she doubted it was anything serious. Over time, he got better at hiding it but overt glimpses appeared. Now she was realising that maybe she just wasn't letting herself notice. He'd done a hell of a lot of things for her that others would point out as love long before she'd left for Mandalore. Risking his own life to save her from Inquisitors always stuck with her, but so did his deep care for her at other times. His worry and urge to help her at Skystrike, the fear and sadness she saw on his face as the spirits possessed her on Dathomir and the relief he had at her safety afterwards, his encouraging compliments and patience with her as they were training and his own attempts to reach out to her when it all became too much. Sure, she'd started falling for him a while before the darksaber came into the mix, but at that time she'd nearly convinced herself she was too late and he'd moved on. _You've never been good with emotions, Sabine Wren. With reading them anyway._

 _I was so mean to him them._ It hurt her to think how hostile she could be. Even when her own feelings to him were changing, her knee-jerk reaction to every little emotional trigger was something she deeply regretted. Her complete lack of thought of how her problems would look to someone who didn't have a family to reconnect with still stung her chest. Ezra didn't hold grudges, not to the people he cared about. _Not to the girl he loved._ Another small smile covered her lips. He'd loved her all this time, every action he did for her had been underpinned by that fact. Even with her constant deflections and attitude issues, that persistent young man had remained completely devoted to her.

It was all the proof she needed that this relationship wouldn't be like most others, not like the ones beset by mistrust and disloyalty or plagued by fading feelings as time went on. She knew Mandalorians wed and loved for life, it was a cultural trait of a warrior society too focused on conflict to waste time on multiple failed romances, and scholars argued it was a biological one too. It was that which made coming to terms with her feelings for him so difficult, falling in love with him would mean falling in love for life. Her head lifted slightly to look up at his face, once again seemingly asleep, then at the arms holding her and the way she herself had willingly coiled herself around him. _I can deal with this for the rest of my life quite happily._

Sabine didn't know how long they stayed like that again, she could have drifted off occasionally herself for all she knew. Her mind as well as her body just seemed to want to let go of any worries and focus everything just on the feeling of being there at that moment.

A harsh metallic knock on her door rocked her awake and got a jump from Ezra too. From the other side of the door, the whirring and sputtering that acted as Chopper's laughter could be heard loud and clear.

Ezra reluctantly sat up with a look of annoyance, "Chopper! I'm going to throw you in the oil bath for that!"

The astromech slammed his manipulators on the metal once again before rolling away with a laugh. Sabine sat herself up too to put herself eye-level with Ezra, "I guess that's our alarm clock."

His deep blue eyes swung back to meet hers with a loving smile, "Yeah. I'd rather stay here though." His hand reached up to her cheek and brushed it lightly.

Her own hand met it and brought it down to her legs to hold it, "I would too, but nobody called the Rebellion off." Sabine pulled him in for a long kiss, taking it slow and savouring every second of it. "We better get up", she admitted reluctantly.

With a squeeze of her hand, Ezra shifted his legs out of the blanket and over the edge of the bunk, pulling himself to his feet. As the Jedi stretched and adjusted himself, Sabine found herself habitually looking him up and down. She wasn't in _that_ kind of mood right now, but she couldn't stop herself appreciating the ways in which he so easily tempted that part of her. "You know most people usually have trouble looking attractive in the morning", she told him, her eyes drinking in the sight of her boyfriend.

Without missing a beat Ezra looked back at her, "Well you clearly don't struggle with that."

Her cheeks blushed at the compliment as she scooted herself out of bed and stood face to face with him, "Charmer." They shared another lingering kiss, Ezra's hands instinctively resting on her waist and pulling her closer. It was Ezra who pushed for more, sneaking a bit of tongue in and for the first time gently nipping her lip with his teeth. _Your turn to be the tease, is it?_ Sabine gave him a knowing look, "I guess you're a morning person then."

Ezra grinned handsomely at her, "Usually. But you seem to make me an 'anytime of day' person."

It was fun seeing him like this and more than a little tempting, but now wasn't the time. "Well I should let you know I'm an evening kind of girl." Drawing her fingers teasingly around his chest she smirked, "I'm sure I'll make exceptions for you though." Her mouth covered his in another passionate exchange but she didn't let it draw out too long. _I'll struggle to stop myself if I did._ As she pulled away she smiled, "But not now. I'm hungry and everyone is probably wondering why we're taking so long."

The young couple broke apart to get themselves dressed. Ezra pulled his shirt on and stood respectfully in the corner as Sabine changed in to a fresh set of clothes. Sabine went to the door and gently pulled the taped note off it, placing it carefully on the side of her desk. She had never found the will to get rid of any of Hera's message, instead keeping them nicely tucked away in one of her draws and this one wouldn't be any different.

With a confirming smile, Sabine went to walk out of the room before Ezra gently grabbed her shoulder. "Uh, are we gonna tell everyone? Like now?", he asked.

Sabine thought for a moment, "I don't see why we should wait. I don't mean barge in and announce it, just let everyone know before he all go off for whatever we have to do today."

Ezra nodded to her, "Okay. That sounds good." Ezra pulled her in quickly for a peck on the cheek, "For luck."

Returning the gesture, Sabine turned and headed into the common area with Ezra behind her. The door opened to reveal Zeb and Kanan sat at the table, plates cleaned of food a while ago, just talking as good friends did. They both looked over in the direction of the approaching teens.

"Nice of you to join us." Kanan jested to them, a warm grin on his face.

"Morning to you too. How was your night with Hera?", Sabine asked as she went to the counter. Ezra patted her on the shoulder and motioned her to sit, intent on doing the serving for her. That earned a laugh to herself, _I could get used to this kind of treatment._ She wouldn't let him be like that all the time, of course, she could look after herself and she'd return the favour to him surely too.

Taking her place at the table next to Zeb, Kanan repiled, "It was needed. It's nice to get some time away from it all."

Sabine couldn't stop herself smiling at him, "Any details or are they not 'table-friendly' conversation?"

The older Jedi laughed at her, "Some of it's private, but not for the reason you're thinking. It was just nice, peaceful. I appreciate you're help in setting it up." The gratitude was heartfelt and meaningful.

"Any time Kanan." Sabine smiled to him. Her attention switched over to the Lasat, looking more than a little grumpy. "What's up with you? Gizka invade you room or something?"

Zeb groaned into his hands, "Let's just say Rex plays Pazaak with a vengeance."

Ezra appeared from the side and placed a plate of food, Hera's signature cooking that she never quite figured out what its ingredients were. Didn't matter though, it was damn good. Her new boyfriend sat beside her and discreetly rested his hand on her leg which she in turn met with her own. Zeb seemed to distraught to notice the conspicuously hidden hands of the couple and Kanan... well Kanan wasn't a problem.

 _He might sense it though._ No one had mentioned anything about Ezra's stay in their room or the unusually long time it'd taken to get them out of bed. _Even Kanan could have seen something was going on, right?_ To be honest though, she was glad no one was saying anything. It was their relationship to announce, not one to be ferreted out by a throwaway question from someone else. The two teens tucked into their food, Kanan and Zeb sitting quietly in completely juxtaposed states of mind. Kanan; calm, stoic and looking quite happy with himself, Zeb; angry, agitated and looking nothing like the confident joker he'd been last night.

They were mostly quiet as they ate, sitting in comfortable silence. Sabine's fingers stroked Ezra's up and down soothingly, giving him just a little bit more of her attention that the others would be able to see.

Their quiet meal was interrupted by the entry of the green-skinned Twilek captain of their ship. With a warm smile she entered the room from the direction of the cockpit. "Oh, I see you two have decided to join us", Hera said to them, looking right at Sabine.

 _She knows._ Sabine met her eyes, noticing how the Twilek's had darted quickly down to the table under which Ezra and Sabine's hands were held. Hera's smile didn't escape Sabine's notice and, as expected, she didn't mention anything. Hera knew it was theirs to announce and not hers to pry in. Raising her hands to her hips, their captain looked over her crew.

"We have a new mission. It should be simple enough, just a recon run a few parsecs from here. It shouldn't take us more than a few hours." Hera stated to them.

"What's this about?", Ezra asked her.

"The usual. Imperial activity that isn't normal. Command is always worried about changes in the routine, we're just going to check it out."

Kanan chuckled, "The Empire could send some on an irregular refresher break and command would send us out."

Hera gave a laugh herself, "Maybe they would. And we'd still have to go." _She's happier,_ Sabine observed. Comments like that usually wouldn't get much of a response from her. The Mandalorian didn't want to give herself credit for it, but she didn't doubt that some time off and time to connect had been a good choice for her.

"Whatever you say, captain." Kanan gave a mock salute and prompting an eye roll from his rebellious sweetheart.

Hera straightened herself again, "So everyone clear?" The crew gave mumbled murmurs of agreement that satisfied the Twilek. Hera loosened her posture and let her hands drop as she always did after a briefing, but she hesitated and paused. After a second, the Twilek looked over to Sabine from the corner of her eye. "Anything else?" Hera asked.

Sabine knew exactly what she was trying to do and was grateful for it. It would be awkward to just drop it in out of nowhere, by setting her up for it the Twilek was doing them both a favour.

To her surprise, Ezra cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Uh, yeah."

Zeb perked up and looked over to them and Kanan as well didn't seem to be expecting anyone to speak. Their captain, on the other hand, didn't seem one bit surprised and the subtle glint in her eyes said she knew everything before they'd even gotten out of bed this morning.

"Uh, well last night we, uh." Ezra rubbed his neck and looked awkwardly away from everyone, "Well, Sabine and I are-" _Maybe letting him handle the announcement wasn't the best idea._ The Mandalorian was almost going to speak herself when she felt the sudden movement of her hand come up from under the table and place itself firmly on it, fingers still locked in Ezra's and in clear view of two-thirds of the other crewmates. "We're together. As in a couple."

There wasn't an immediate reaction from anyone, admittedly it was a bit concerning. Zeb looked like something had just snapped, Kanan's mouth seemed to curl into a smile and not much else and Hera had known for at least an hour or so already.

After an uncomfortably long silence, Zeb finally said something. "Well you certainly took your time. Congratulations anyway." The gruff but endearing smile from his was genuine. He may have loved prodding them and joking with them, but he cared nonetheless.

Kanan laughed, "I'm proud of you two. It's not easy coming to terms with those kind of feelings at your age, or in your situation. I'm happy for you two."

Ezra squeezed her hand tighter, "Thanks, guys. We appreciate it."

"I'm not going to pretend like I didn't know what was happening with you two, but that doesn't make me any less happy for you." Hera smiled down at them.

 _You're the best space-mom ev-..._ Sabine looked over at Ezra. _Space mom?_ _Wouldn't that make Ezra and I-?_ Sabine shook away the thought, it was only a name and it didn't matter.

"Wait," Zeb said loudly, his eyes searching up for something that wasn't there. Suddenly, his ears dropped and he sighed, "Oh, karabast."

Sabine scowled jokingly at him, "Sorry, Zeb. Didn't know you were that against Ezra and I being together."

The Lasat shook his head, "Not that. It's been, what, four years since Ezra came here?"

Ezra seemed as confused as Sabine was, "Uh, yeah. Why does that matter?"

Zeb's head sunk into his hands again and Kanan fussed about with something as well. As the two teens sat confused at everything, Hera stood above grinning contently. "Can I ask what's going on?" Ezra asked exasperatedly.

Kanan answered with a small handful of credits produced from his pocket as Zeb did the same. Hera held out her hand and the two men dropped them into her open palm.

The older bearded Jedi laughed, "Sorry you two, we took bets on it."

"You what?!" They both exclaimed in unison.

"What? We all knew it was going to happen someday." Kanana answered nonchalantly, grinning at the reaction of the couple.

 _What the-? When-?_ Sabine furrowed her eyes at them, "When did you do this and why?"

The Lasat chuckled, "About a month or so after Ezra joined. He was in that Imperial Academy and you were on watch duty for him. All of us had a sitdown and thought you two were going to end up in love." His tone was slightly sarcastic, "We all took bets, Hera won."

Sabine looked, mouth agape, at Hera. "Hera? You gambled on us falling in love?"

"It isn't a gamble when I know I'm going to win." The Twilek replied happily. "Zeb thought you'd be a thing within the first year, Kanan called three, I said four. I suppose Chopper said never but we don't listen to him anyway." The disgruntled beeps of the rickety old droid sounded from down in the cargo bay.

"Why'd you bet four?" Ezra asked. _Really, Ezra? Is that the thing you find most needing of questioning here?_

"A year or two for you to grow up enough for her not to see you as a kid, a couple months after that for her to fall for you, and a year or so for her to get around to admitting how she felt. I didn't doubt for a second you'd still be head over heels for her at that point anyway." The Twilek stated matter-of-factly. _That's scarily accurate._

The Mandalorian was completely dumbfounded. _They knew all this time._ She knew they knew about Ezra's crush, half the galaxy could see that, but she had no idea the whole crew had been rooting for them from the start. _They know you better than you know yourself, they could see it a parsec away._ For all her hard persona and walled off attitude, the Ghost crew had seen right past it. They knew, one day, that young boy so smitten with her would work his way immovably into her heart. _Sometimes, I love it when you guys are right._

"As much as I'd love to stand around being happy all day, we have a job to do." The Twilek announced, "Zeb, Kanan go make sure everything is clear for departure. I'll keep Ezra and Sabine here to clean up and get ready." As Kanan and Zeb begrudgingly shuffled out of their seats, Hera had one last thing to say, "And when we get back, we'll do something to celebrate properly. A family dinner maybe or maybe we'll all have a drink or two."

Kanan and Zeb walked out of the common area to check the landing gear and square everything away. Sabine and Ezra remained seated, looking at each other with a mix of relief and embarrassment. As Ezra's eyes searched hers, Sabine though about it a bit more. _Everyone knew, except me. From the start, Hera, Kanan, Zeb, even Ezra, they all were hoping it'd go this way. Everyone except me._ It was strange to think about it, but she'd be lying if she said she'd loved him at the start. It may have taken time, years even, but all of it was worth it. Sabine couldn't stop herself silently mouthing the words, _'I love you'_ to him, still feeling a bit too fresh to say it so openly in front of Hera.

"While I have the chance...", The Twilek interrupted their little moment. "I do want to lay out some ground rules."

Ezra's head cocked over to her with a worried expression, "Uh, Hera... I-I don't think you have to-"

Hera scowled in the way only mothers can at him, "Yes I do. I'm happy for you two, you know that. But, I know how it is and I know what it's like to be in love, alright?"

"Hera we know tha-" Ezra stopped himself again.

"You'll do what you do, believe me I understand. I don't mind you sharing a room either, I know it's nice to have company. Just keep it safe, okay?"

The two squirming teens struggled to meet her gaze, mumbling some variation of 'Yes Hera' to her in their embarrassment. Hera seemed to be enjoying messing with the new sweethearts in a thoroughly non-cruel way.

Satisfied her point had been made, Hera turned around to head to the cockpit and the door swished open, but for a second she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "One more thing, if this morning taught me anything. Remember to lock the door. You're still my little babies, I don't want to walk in on you making your own."

"Hera!", Sabine half-yelled at her in embarrassment. With a humoured grin she'd disappeared through the door.

Ezra's cheeks were a bright red and he seemed adorably uncomfortable, "You know I was going to say that announcing it wasn't that bad but, after that, I don't know."

Sabine smiled at him, letting her head rest on his shoulder while still clutching his hand. "It's done now. Locking the door is good advice though." She laughed to herself a bit, "And if we're sharing a room, it is advice we're going to need."

The comment caught Ezra's attention and he turned to see the sly smirk on her face, her eyes giving him the familiar feeling that he always associated with her, "I love you so much."

She kissed him again, "I love you too."

Knowing it was time to get to their duties, Ezra sat up from the chair and Sabine followed, carefully releasing the grip on each other's hand as they picked up their dirty dishes to begin the job of cleaning up. As Sabine's mind drifted to nowhere in particular, Ezra's voice piped up.

"Hey, one last thing." Ezra placed the dishes down on the counter and turned to her, "You know Kanan and Hera have 'dear', like a pet name?"

"Yeah, why? You want one too?" Sabine looked at him, once more drawn to those flawless blue eyes.

"Yeah. I just don't know what." Ezra appeared to think for a second, probably running through a dozen different names to apply to her.

 _Dear. Love. Precious. Babe. Baby. Sweetheart._ There were plenty, but none of them quite right. _Except one._

"Cyar'ika", Sabine stated, drawing Ezra's attention immediately.

"Cyar'ika?", Ezra asked, with pronunciation on point to Sabine's surprise. "What is that?"

"It's Mandalorian", She smiled to him. "It's you and I guess me too."

Ezra giggled, "I know that. I meant what does it mean."

Sabine thought for a second, breaking eye contact for a few heartbeats, before meeting his gaze again. _He doesn't need to know right away. All he needs to know is that's what we are._ "I'm not telling you yet", she grinned. "I'll tell you some other time."

The Jedi put on a mocking pout, "Why not? You know I could just look it up on the holonet, right?"

Stepping the foot or two towards him to close the gap, Sabine kissed him and held it for a few seconds, letting the passion and love have the time it deserved. Pulling apart slowly and happy she sighed, "I know you could, but you're not going to."

Sabine brushed past him with a slight rubbing of her hand across his. Ezra turned to watch her leave, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I told you not to", she called back at him.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ezra asked her as the woman he loved walked slowly away from him.

Turning only slightly to see him as she left, "I'm going to get ready, you're going to do the dishes."

The smile he gave melted her heart instantly. Warmth, love, care, affection, respect, devotion and a million other perfect emotions expressed in one simple move of a few muscles. _I love you, Cyar'ika._

She hadn't wanted the door to close up and take him out of view as she left the common area. Taking a deep breath to collect herself, her mind raced with the events of the morning as well as last night, last afternoon, last morning and the last few weeks before also deciding to bring in the last few years of time she'd spent with him. _Focus, Sabine. Remember, big picture._ Another deep breath and her mind calmed. _I guess Ezra's rubbing off on me already._ Right now, she had a mission to do and so did he. The Empire didn't give a damn who loved who, they'd try and burn it all. Sabine wouldn't let them now, or before for that matter, and she had to focus on her missions if that was to remain true. Still though, no matter what, now she knew that despite it all she had someone and somewhere to escape to. After years of everything from betrayal to guilt to crime to defeat, there was a glimmer of hope, personal hope, real hope. Hope wrapped up in a mumbling, clumsy, corny, weird boy who managed to be the most endearing, comfortable, caring, adorable, handsome, loving and perfect being in the galaxy, to her at least. _Ezra Bridger._

Life wouldn't be the same, not again. In the past, that had usually been a bad thing. Not this time though, this time it was something to celebrate and something to remember. Sabine smiled to herself as she thought of how to do justice to it all. _Huh, maybe I'll dye my hair._

* * *

 **3 months and 1 week. That's how long ago I decided to boot up this website and just write for the first time in a very long while. I didn't start out with a plan, the first chapter was meant to be a standalone story that ended on the same day it began. It became something I'm proud to have seen through simply for my own sake, to have gotten myself to sit down and commit to it even if I've at time not been the happiest with it. It's not the massive, multi-month spanning epics that some people write and it's still only 5 chapters at the end of the day, but I'm happy I wrapped it up.**

 **I'm repeating myself for the gazillionth time but I don't care. Thank you. Thank you everyone who has read, reviewed, supported, liked, hated and everything in between over these last few months. The support and response people have given has been the most rewarding part of everything and has also been the primary driver for me to continue doing it. I'm humbled by the people who have enjoyed the story and I can't thank the community enough for being so welcoming and positive about everything. It's been a privilege to interact with all of you and I look forward to doing so again in the future.**

 **Speaking of which, I've been thinking about what I want to do next. I'm confident I still want to write, at least a little bit, on stuff relating to Star Wars Rebels. The other day, I started a new little story and I do have some plans for that which will probably go live in a few days again. It's nothing major and I won't do more than 2 chapters in it, but it's my start point for whatever I do next. In terms of this story and it's continuity, it's mostly done. I do have at least one idea that I might tack on to the end of this one in a small chapter some time. A more traditional epilogue than this last part ended up being. It won't be much, but I've got a solid idea of what I'd do and I'm pretty sure I'll get around to it eventually.**

 **I can see myself doing some more Ezra/Sabine stuff more in the vein of my other story, in that they'll be smaller independent things in no particular order and with no particular consistency, not like this has been. I've also floated the idea of doing some small non-Ezra/Sabine pieces that I might compile into it's own little entry as well. I'm just spit-balling at this point and I'll avoid rambling any more than I already have. I'll just say that I'm not done with Rebels and I hope to have some stuff some people will like in the future.**

 **I'm not sure what will happen in the immediate future. As much as I enjoy my writing here, I'm conscious I'm neglecting other writing tasks that need my attention. I'll probably try dividing my time more evenly, but the advent of Rebel's imminent finale might push me to stay focused solely on Rebels. It's early days, and nothing I can decide right now.**

 **Lastly, on some of the things specifically in this chapter. Pazaak and Gizka are dropped in purely because I wanted to sneak an homage to the KOTOR games I enjoy so much. Hera writing notes in paper to the crew was something that just popped into my head one day. I thought, "Do we ever see paper in Star Wars?", and I thought it's probably old, expensive and difficult to get your hands on. I don't know why I decided Hera did that for the crew, but it seemed like a fitting action for her to take. Lastly, the whole 'Cyar'ika' thing. It's an idea straight out of a dozen or so other fics that I'm sure any fans of Sabine/Ezra have seen before, right down to the part where Ezra isn't allowed to know exactly what it means. It wasn't a nod to any story in particular, but rather to a number of stories I've enjoyed and been inspired by over the last few months. It's also a strangely beautiful word to read and write, which sounds completely stupid considering it's not even a real word, but it's always had a weird charm to it for me.**

 **So yeah, this story is by and large over for now. I enjoyed writing it and I sincerely hope people enjoy reading it. I'll be around and writing here in the future I'm sure and I wish everyone the best of luck and enjoyment as the show reaches its conclusion in the coming weeks.**

Kind Regards - Lothcat1138


	6. 6: An Afternoon On The Ghost

**With Season 4 wrapped up and an untold amount of time to wait for answers, I decided I'd throw together one of my epilogue ideas in my free time. It's nothing major and it's pretty much just fluff and an excuse to write these characters again. It won't be as long as the other chapters nor will it advance any plot, as far as I'm concerned this story is pretty much over. It's simply me writing about these two for a few thousand words and that kind of trash is everything fan fiction is for, right?**

 **I'll say thank you to the reviewers as always for continuing to provide feedback and indescribable levels of encouragement. This time though I have to thank a little community of other writers and fanatics who occupy our little Discord server. It's kept me up hours after I should have slept, delivered the best weird shots of Sabine's facial expressions and also gave the inspiration I and many others there needed to get writing more often or pick it up again after a long break. You guys and girls are the absolute best and continue to be a highlight of my day.**

 **Now that's out the way, we can move on to the story. It's after the story by a couple of hours and just deals with Sabine talking to her parents and of course letting them know of her relationship with Ezra. As is the pattern, it's Ezra's POV this time. I felt like giving it to Sabine since it's her parents but settled on Ezra to get his own internal breakdown.**

* * *

Ezra straightened his jacket in his room, brushing his hand vigorously over the clothes to dislodge masses of purple hair. _Zeb's damn hair! It's everywhere._ The Lasat's fur was meant to keep him warm but it's primary purpose in reality seemed to be to get in every single nook and cranny of his roommate's clothes and body.

 _Damnit I can't look like a mess for this!_ Ezra became more and more frustrated as every swipe seemed to reveal more hair than he was taking off. _Kriff it, it won't get much better._ He'd realised that ten minutes ago but had continued partially because he was far too scared to go and do what it was he was preparing for. Sabine had insisted on letting her parent's know about their relationship as soon as possible, and as soon as possible had meant now. They'd only been together since last night and only announced it to the crew that morning, but Sabine wouldn't leave it another second. A light knock sounded at the door. _Right on queue._

"Ezra, come on! You've been in there for ages!", Sabine called. She sounded a little frustrated but there was a certain happiness to her voice even still.

His hands stopped rubbing up and down his torso and reached for the door controls to open it. Ezra was taken aback at the sight of her. _She's dyed her hair._ The Mandalorian's pink and white do had been replaced with one dyed at the tips with a deep purple and Ezra noticed just a very slight purple tint to the rest of her apparently dark brown natural hair colour.

Sabine waited for a few seconds for him to say something but eventually had to be the one to do it, "So do you like it? I went with something a bit darker, the bright colours were a bit much for me this time."

The answer she got was the wrapping of his arms around her waist and the meeting of his lips onto hers. "I love it, you look beautiful."

Her mouth curled into a radiant smile at her boyfriend, "You're too nice to me, cyar'ika." They held the embrace for a brief couple of seconds before breaking apart. As they did so, her hands slid onto his and held onto them. "Come on, we've got to tell my parents."

As Sabine tried pulling him through his door, Ezra stood firm, "Are you absolutely sure, like totally sure, they won't hate me?"

"Ugh", Sabine groaned as she turned back to him, "I've told you. If they didn't like you, you'd know. You saved my father's life, you've stuck by me for four years, you fought to free all of Mandalore and you've made me the happiest Mandalorian in the galaxy. If they actually do hate you after all that then I'll let _you_ choose my next armour paint job." She finished the sentence by pressing an accusing finger into his chest.

Ezra smirked at her, "That's a lot of trust coming from you", the Jedi laughed and thought for a second, "Okay I believe you."

The girl gave him a slight peck on the cheek before turning and leading him by the hand to her room. Sabine had her own personal holo-communicator to home that she could use as she pleased. Ezra didn't know how often she used it, it was a private thing for her, only that is was there. It had been placed neatly on her desk and Ezra didn't miss the fact she'd spent just a bit of time clearing away old clothes and dirty dishes from around her room, at least in the places where the hologram might show them.

Sabine let go of his hand and started to fiddle with the device with Ezra watching her nervously. After some tinkering she straightened up and turned to him. "Okay, stay off in the corner for now. It's just formality, you don't start a call with an unexpected guest straight away." The Jedi just nodded at her to which she tilted her head and smiled, "Relax, okay? It'll be fine." Her words didn't help all that much, he'd been saying them to himself these last few hours. Sabine could tell he was still on edge but realised the best way to handle it was to just get on with it. "I love you, let's just do this."

"I love you too", he answered as she leaned down to tap some final buttons to contact the Wren stronghold.

The Mandalorian stepped back and looked over to him, "Just stay there and be quiet, I'll call you over in a bit."

The chance to reply was lost when the translucent blue figures of Countess Ursa Wren and Count Alrich Wren materialised in miniature atop the table.

"Sabine, dear. It's lovely to see you." Ursa Wren answered, the motherly tone Ezra'd so rarely seen on Krownest on full display.

Sabine's eyes lit up and her smile grew at the sight of her parents, "Mother. Father. I've missed you. How are you?"

"We've been well, as has Tristan. How have you been, my daughter?", asked her father.

Shifting on her feet, Sabine seemingly chose not to go in to too much detail. "I've been well. Had a mission a few days back that ended up with one wrecked star destroyer, one incinerated light cruiser and a destroyed Imperial radar dish", she replied with a hint of joking smugness.

Her parents laughed, "Making us proud then I see."

"What about you guys? How are things on Mandalore?"

Ursa's expression didn't lose it's happy demeanour, which Ezra took as a good sign. "The clans are rallying around Bo Katan and the Darksaber. Imperial forces are in full retreat or are defecting in droves."

A sigh of massive relief escaped Sabine, "That's... amazing to hear."

"Mandalore is rallying around her in a way they haven't done for anyone in centuries. She was right to say she wasn't her sister, she's something far greater." Sabine's father had started to stroke his short beard as he continued, "Passing the Darksaber to her was a wise choice, Sabine."

"I'd hoped it would be. She's a far greater leader than I could have been", Sabine answered. She never was arrogant about her abilities. Confident sure, but all of it was appropriate to what she knew she could do.

Alrich chuckled at her, "For now, perhaps. You've still got many, many decades ahead of you. Maybe one da-"

"No, we're not going there again." Sabine cut him off with a laugh of her own.

Ezra watched her nervously, anxiously waiting for the inevitable announcement of their relationship. Looking at her parents now Ezra half wondered why he'd been so worried, they appeared warm and happy and certainly not the source of abject terror he'd mentally made them out to be whilst pacing nervously in his quarters. _Remember her mother did have blasters pulled on you... and nearly sold you to the Empire._ It felt a bit cruel to think of Sabine's own mother that way sometimes, she'd redeemed herself with her later actions. What scared him was her disapproval of him. He worried that she might not think he was worthy of her daughter and that, even if Sabine persevered and ignored her parent's disapproval, he'd have to spend his life enduring her disdain. Ezra laughed internally as he realised he was finally understanding why so many men feared their mother-in-laws.

"I see you've changed you're hair again." Alrich said, making the conversation something much less serious.

Ezra smiled as her hand went to her hair and ran her fingers through it, "I just dyed it this morning. The pink was getting too bright for now and darker seemed more... mature."

Alrich folded his arms with one arm sticking up in the way only artists ever seemed to do, "I would agree. It's darker tones better accentuate the new patterns of your armour, and it compliments your eyes' natural brown."

"That was my thinking, father. I also gave my armour a few once overs since I saw you last. I'm moving a bit further from my post-exile masters influences but they're still in there." Ezra hadn't a clue what she and her father were talking about. Thankfully, her mother seemed just as lost as he was and was switching a quite confused look between her husband and daughter.

"You can have your creative discussions some other day, dears", Ursa laughed. "You mentioned in your message there was something you had to talk to us about?"

 _Oh no. Here we go._ He wanted to slide out of her room and hide in his own for the next few years. As scary as telling Sabine how he felt was, it was a hundred times scarier watching her try to tell her battle-hardened warrior family that she'd fallen in love with one their people's most ancient enemies. The purple haired Mandalorian took a pause and awkwardly shifted her gaze away from her parents, just briefly glancing at Ezra.

Sabine cleared her throat and steeled herself for the next part of the conversation, "Ahem, yes. I, uh, I have some news."

Ursa raised her eyebrow in curiosity, "News? Should we be worried?"

"Uh, not exactly. Well, I hope not anyway." Sabine was slightly fumbling her words. _What? I thought she said they liked me? Oh karabast, oh karabast, oh karabast._

Her father inspected her with a probing gaze, "Well then, what is you have to tell us?"

The dreaded moment came for Ezra as Sabine looked squarely at him with a loving but nervous smile, nodding her head to call him over. He took a deep breath then as calmly as he could he stepped toward her, standing squarely at her side and looking at her parents. Ursa's face hardened is surprise as he came within range of the hologram scanner that allowed them to see him. Alrich, on the other hand, had a knowing smile on his face within a heartbeat. _Oh he knows exactly what the news is._

"Hey, guys. I mean, Count and Countess. How are you?" Ezra wanted to smack himself for that introduction as he apprehensively began rubbing the back of his head. He could feel the awkward glare of Sabine on the side of his face but couldn't bare to look at her in his embarrassment.

Sabine's mother at least didn't seem offended, only confused, "Hello to you too, Ezra." Her mother's focus shifted back to Sabine, "Your news is Ezra?"

She had to laugh at that, "Not exactly. Well, I guess maybe." Ezra watched as Sabine puzzled away in her mind how to handle this. After a few seconds Sabine's beautiful eyes met his with a smile that told him she was ready. "We're together."

The brief moment of happiness Ezra felt as she had formed the words nearly instantly dissipated as he saw Ursa's mouth almost fall open. Alrich was more measured, staring at the newly revealed couple with a small grin. The silence seemed to drag out for hours even though it was only a few seconds. Ursa's mouth slowly shut before her eyes shifted from Sabine and bore straight into him. She wasn't anything close to readable but Ezra had the gut feeling she wasn't completely happy with this development.

Ursa wasn't planning on addressing him though, "Sabine, how long has this been going on?" she asked bluntly.

"A- a few hours, really", Sabine stammered. "It happened last night, we told the rest of the crew this morning and now we're telling you."

"A Jedi?" Ursa said firmly.

"Yes, mother. Ezra. A Jedi. My Jedi." Sabine declared, stepping very slightly forward as she did so as if to protect him from them. _My Jedi._ If her parents hadn't been watching he'd have grabbed her right then and showered her with kisses. Something about it was just so _right._

Her father remained quiet as Ursa's eyes inspected him for an uncomfortable amount of time. Eventually, she sighed loudly. "Every Mandalorian tradition would look on this relationship as offensive. The Jedi have waged wars against us for centuries and even now it could draw the Empire's attention even more if they were to know we were affiliated with a fugitive. If the other clans hear about this they will not be pleased."

Sabine hung her lead low, Ezra could tell the answer had upset her. He was blushing at the embarrassment but the worst part was the feeling of being exposed and guilty. Guilty was the big one. For causing her this pain and even for the wars the Jedi had waged against her people. His own head sunk away and he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable forbidding of their relationship by Countess Ursa Wren.

"But I am not the other clans. I am your mother."

Sabine's head shot up at the sentence and Ezra's own eyes opened. The harsh mask of Ursa had faded to what, Ezra thought, might even have been another smile.

"Mother?" Sabine asked. "What are you saying?"

Ursa finally relented her eyes from Ezra and returned them to her daughter. "Loving a Jedi might not be the easiest thing for a Mandalorian to do, but it's what you choose to do. You are my daughter and if it brings you happiness to be with him then you have our blessing."

 _Oh thank the force._ The breath Ezra had unconsciously been holding flowed out rather loudly as the tension in the air quickly faded. Sabine's hand found his own and squeezed it, the storm had been averted.

"Thank you, mother. For a second there I thought you'd be angry at us."

"Nonsense, Sabine. Ezra has proved himself more than worthy of your devotion. He's kept you safe all these years and has fought for Mandalore better than most of those here have." Ursa gave him a genuine smile, apparently happy to have him as her daughter's chosen partner.

"I-uh, thank you Ma'am. I really appreciate that you're willing to give me a chance." Ezra answered to her, strangely humbled at the Countess' praise.

"Clan Wren owes you many debts, Ezra. You had earned our trust even before Sabine revealed her love for you. There will be *difficulties* if this partnership is made public, but for now I am happy for the two of you."

Sabine's father had been silently enjoying the encounter between his wife, daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. With a shake of his head he laughed, "Am I supposed to act surprised by this?"

 _Please don't tell them, I could use without the embarrassment._ Ezra didn't fancy the story of their first meeting being recounted even if he and Sabine were now together. Sabine looked at her father with a confused and almost frustrated scowl, "Not you too. Why was everyone so sure we were going to end up together?"

"Oh, I had my reasons", Alrich said, subtly winking at Ezra. "But your mother is right, we are very happy for you and you have our support for any relationship the two of you share."

"I hope you both understand what kind of commitment this is." The Countess was maintaining a fair balance between stern and compassionate as she looked at Ezra, "Mandalorian relationships are a unique commitment"

 _Unique? Sabine didn't say anything was different about it?_ Sabine had almost shied away as her mother spoke. _Okay, something is up..._

"We do, mother. Don't worry."

The sudden reply from Sabine ended any chance for Ezra to ask exactly what Ursa had meant. Ezra doubted it could be anything bad, surely Sabine would have warned him, but it was something he might have to press her on later.

The Countess almost laughed, "I'll always worry, Sabine. I trust you. I trust both of you."

"Thank you, ma'am." Ezra replied, eager to make a good impression on her.

"You can drop the formalities, Ezra. You may call me Ursa in private, though in public I must ask for the title."

"Of course, Cou- Ursa. I'll be happy to do that."

Ursa laughed at the awkward, fumbling young man, "I must warn you. If you do cause any harm or sadness for her, we will come for you."

Ezra could feel the colour drain from his face and the amused looks from Sabine and her father. He'd have taken the threat as serious if Ursa wasn't on the verge of laughing herself. _In all seriousness, they probably would._ The more he thought about it, the less it worried him though. He had absolutely no intention of giving her anything but happiness.

"Please don't threaten to kill my boyfriend, mom. It's not the best way to start off the relationship." Sabine squeezed his hand reassuringly at his obvious discomfort as she halfheartedly scolded her mother

"Be calm, Sabine. She's at least half-joking." Alrich was quick to continue the discussion, "I hope you come with Sabine next time she visits. It'll be nice to greet you as family and not just as an ally."

Ezra exchanged a brief smile with a clearly overjoyed Sabine before answering, "Of course. I'd love to come visit you."

"I'll bring him along next time, I promise", Sabine laughed. "Just promise you'll be nice, Ezra isn't always the smoothest at social interactions", she joked with a teasing glance over to him.

Ezra feigned a hurt face but laughed as well, "Hey, that's mean!"

Sabine leaned in to him and kissed his cheek, "You know I'm right though."

His eyes caught hers again and reduced him to another goofy grin. Everything about her had become so familiar yet so new at the same time. The hair, obviously, was different but something else had changed. It was something far less physical and much more emotional. Her eyes were... brighter? Her posture less tense, her laugh more free and her smile more common. It was a change Ezra had noticed in the last few days in particular, a change he admitted might have had something to do with him. Even now, despite her parents watching their every move, she seemed elated in a way he'd never seen her before. The feeling was mutual of course, he'd never experienced this type of closeness with another person before and there was no one he'd rather share it with than her.

"Ahem." Ursa's voice sounded over their moment. "I suppose we should leave you two to it then."

The two older warriors looked at each other before taking some time to take in the sight of their daughter with this Jedi she'd become smitten with. Ezra could tell they were at least happy that Sabine was happy. They were right about the history of the Jedi and the Mandalorians though and he'd need to ask Kanan to refresh him on that particular topic. It wouldn't be easy if they ever went to Krownest, or even worse if their relationship made it into the wider knowledge of Mandalore. _Nothing worth doing is ever easy._ It didn't matter to him, he'd deal with whatever consequences came if it meant he could spend his life with Sabine Wren.

"Keep yourselves safe, we'll be thinking of you", Alrich told them in a soft voice.

Sabine gave her parents a glowing smile, "Thank you for being okay with this. I'll stay in touch, I promise."

With a final smile and exchange of 'I love yous', the Wren parents disappeared from the tabletop, leaving Sabine and Ezra standing hand in hand.

"Well that was... not as painful as I thought it would be", Sabine admitted.

The Jedi turned to his partner with worried glare, "I thought you told me you were expecting them to like me?"

"Oh, I did. It's the relationship I didn't think they'd like", the girl replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"But that's... ugh... you know what, it doesn't matter. It worked out." Ezra pulled her in and gave her a long hug. He'd been dreading it ever since Sabine had mentioned. He didn't dislike her family by any stretch, it was just that natural response to have to things like this. It was much worse knowing that both of Sabine's parents were hardened and experienced warriors. If they didn't like him, there was a whole bunch of things they could do to get him out of the way. _Not that they would, of course._ He decided to just drop it for now, he'd avoided one storm from Ursa Wren and he didn't much fancy stirring up another with her daughter.

"So, your Jedi, huh?" No way he'd forget that comment or how happy it had made him when she said it.

There was a giggle from Sabine, "Damn right, my Jedi." She lovingly and possessively let her arms snake around and claim as much of his back she could humanly could. It was tight, hard to breath and absolutely, positively adorable to him.

They held each other for a while, Ezra rocking her gently in his arms in a strangely cathartic way for the two of them. His head dropped lazily against her shoulder as he contemplated her and everything they'd become.

"You know I never thought you'd be like this." Ezra said quietly.

He felt her stir in his arms but she didn't make any effort to leave him, "Like what?"

Ezra tightened the hug for a heartbeat, "Like _this._ Hugging, laughing, all the cute stuff. I thought you'd be more... distant. Not in a bad way really, just not all for the affection stuff."

The girl in his arms released her tight hold and stared at him quizzically, "Really? Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, I just always thought Mandalorians wouldn't be ones to express things like that."

Sabine appeared offended, to lack a better word, towards him. She removed herself from his embrace in a huff and folded her arms at him, but the faint smile she still wore showed she wasn't all serious.

"You thought _I'd_ have trouble being expressive?", she said with a hint of unmeant harshness.

"No no no that's not what I mean", Ezra answered placing his hands up in front of him in defence, "I'm sorry?"

Her head fell back in a laugh and she sat down onto her bunk, "I'm not a normal Mandalorian, Ezra. On the battlefield, sure, but on my own? I bend the rules a bit. I'm unique like that"

 _Unique._ That sure was one way to describe her. Ezra had to just take her in again, for the millionth time, and appreciate her. There wasn't anything about her that wasn't original or individual. Every icon on her armour was her own design and blend of colour painted in her own unique style. Her armour was reforged to fit her uniquely lithe frame and smaller stature. None of that impeded her skills though, of which she blended a distinctive love of explosives with her one of a kind vambraces, jetpack and duel-wield style in a way that must have cost the Empire thousands of credits and almost as many men.

Stopping himself from getting lost in the love of his life again, he sat down next to her on the bunk and leaned back against the wall on the far side. She copied his actions and lay her arm across his chest to hold herself close. Ezra thought back to what her mother had said of Mandalorian relationships as 'unqiue commitments'. Now was as good a time as any to ask her what exactly that mean.

"Hey... you know I have to ask. What did your mother mean about Mandalorian relationships being unique? Is that something I should know?"

Sabine froze a bit at the question and sighed, "I... It's not something people tend to know."

"Uh, should I be worried?", Ezra asked.

"No", was her blunt reply.

He waited for her to explain what exactly she meant but when the answer didn't come, Ezra was forced to press her on the issue.

"That still doesn't answer my question", he prodded.

"Ezra.. it's just...", Sabine had raised her head to look up at him. Whatever was the matter, it was making her noticeably uncomfortable.

Without a word he placed his hand on her cheek and stroked it lightly, "You can tell me anything, cyar'ika."

Her mouth curled into a smile at his remarkably good pronunciation. Sabine leaned into his hand and closed her eyes to relax, leaving herself think for a bit before saying whatever it was she had to. When her eyes opened she reached up her hand and pulled his off her face, instead holding it tightly with her own.

"What my mother meant was Mandalorians don't love like other people. We're a war society before everything, we don't like wasting time or wasting feelings."

 _Wasting time?_ It sent alarm bells ringing straight away in his head. _Is she going to marry me?_ Ezra would have loved that in a lot of ways, but it was a massive step to take in the first day of a relationship.

"W-waste time? You're not going to ask to marry me already are you?" Ezra asked meekly.

Her eyes rolled unamusedly at him, "No, Ezra. It's not that."

He looked at her concernedly whilst beginning to brush her hand with his thumb. "Then what is it?"

Sabine's eyes drifted to their joined hands and she smiled, "We don't waste time or feelings on people we're not sure on. We can't afford to waste time pursuing a hundred different partners and opening ourselves to a hundred different people who we might end up giving a reason to hate us."

Ezra still didn't get what she meant and just stared at her with a confounded expression. Noticing her failure to explain herself, she let out another sigh and looked him straight in the eye.

"We love for life, Ezra. Some people say it's cultural, some say it's biological, but I guess it doesn't matter. We just do." The sentences were rushed and said quickly and Sabine looked away as soon as they were out.

"So... you're saying-"

Sabine cut him off to clarify everything, "When we fall in love, we don't tend to fall out of it. It's why Mandalorians are so closed off emotionally, we can't risk starting something that stays with us for the rest of our lives." Sabine stopped and used her other hand to brush her hair nervously from her face, "It's why I took so long to... think. And to say what I felt. I had to be sure."

Ezra remained too stunned to respond. _For life?_ Sabine had proven she'd loved him already several times over, but that she was almost guaranteed to carry this through forever was as dizzying as it was unexpected. He loved her. He loved her to death. He'd like nothing more than to spend every day of his life with her. To wake up to her sprawled lazily over him and then go to with her resting peacefully beside him. That perfect life was so tantalisingly in reach and the brief taste of it he'd been getting only made him yearn for it more. _For life, huh? That's something I'm sure I can learn to deal with..._

Not wanting to leave an awkward silence hang, he slipped his hand out of hers almost startling her as he did so. That hand found its way back to her cheek and pulled her in for a deep and slow kiss.

He pulled away with a smile but kept his head close, forehead pressed on hers, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to scare you away, okay?"

Ezra let his hand draw little circles on hers as he smiled, "You wouldn't have scared me away, Sabine. I love you. Always have, always will."

A small flash of joy appeared on her face but it disappeared as soon as it came, "You're sweet Ezra, I love you too. It's just... saying it and doing it are two different things."

It hurt him to hear her say that, to hear her say she didn't fully trust his commitment. After everything they'd shared these last few days he'd hoped he'd proved himself. The answer wasn't to get angry or upset though, the answer was to prove her wrong in any ways he could. If she wasn't one hundred percent sure he was in it for the long run, then the problem lay with him and not her.

"Then... how can I prove to you that I mean it?", he stated plainly. His sure response made her perk up a bit.

"Ezra you don't need to do anything. I know you love me, I didn't meant to say I doubted that...", the Mandalorian's eyes kept searching his own, as if looking for the right words.

Ezra went quiet as she tried to say what she wanted to, but watching her struggle to put her feelings in order ate away at him too much. This their relationship together, it was as much his duty to sort things out as hers.

And then the idea came. It came almost out of nowhere and when it came it wouldn't leave. At first, he pushed the idea back thinking it was simply ridiculous, there was no way they could do that. _Well... why not?_ It was a good question when he thought about it. He'd already loved her for four years and there wasn't any chance of him stopping as far as he could see. Now knowing what it meant for her, he could be confident she was in it wholeheartedly too. _Kriff it, what's the worst that can happen?_

He must have let it show how hard he was pondering to himself. When he finally zoned back in, she was looking at him with a humoured smile, "Ezra? You still in there?"

Her face was right in his, letting him fully appreciate her once more. The way her newly dyed hair fell perfectly around her face, the way her smile managed to shine brighter than Lothal's sun. Those eyes, those chestnut eyes he couldn't help but falter at whenever he saw them. Everything about her still enchanted him as much as when he first saw it. Any last-minute doubts he had dissipated instantly. _You know what you have to do, you know what you want to do._

"Well, why don't we get married?"

The sentence came out quickly and a bit quieter than he intended, no doubt due to the nerves piled behind it. It took her a second to process what he'd just asked her. Ezra could have pinpointed the exact moment she realised what he'd said simply by the massive shift in her face.

"W-what did you just ask me?", she stammered in amazement at him.

"You heard me. Sabine Wren, will you marry me?", Ezra used his hand to cup her face and pull her gaze onto him. His whole future was now hinging on an answer to question that two minutes he'd have never considered asking.

To his surprise she pulled away from him, breaking the touch of his hand on her cheek. She sighed and shut her eyes tight but didn't answer him immediately. The wave of confidence he had before enacting his crazy plan ebbed away quickly. _Karabast, Ezra! What were you thinking? You've scared her away? How could you be so stu-_

"I love you. I love you more than I can ever tell you." She still wasn't looking at him, and he let his head sink down.

"But?", Ezra asked, wincing and closing his eyes to brace himself.

"But if I marry you, we're going to have to deal with all the stuff with Mandalore. Marrying an outsider... a Jedi particularly, it won't make things easy for us. And with the war going on I don't think we can deal with all that right now. There's too much to deal with even before throwing in damn Mandalorian vows and traditions."

Ezra felt his heart sink and reality come crashing down on him, "I-I understand. It was a stupid ide-"

He nearly jumped when he felt her wrap her arms around his neck, pulling her face close to his.

"But maybe we don't need to tell do all the official stuff yet", she said as Ezra opened his eyes to her loving smile in-front of him.

"What do you mean? I thought you just said no?", Ezra asked in confusion.

She shook her hear with a smile, "I said we can't deal with ceremonies and vows and official stuff. But I don't need a ceremony to tell me I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I'll marry you Ezra, when we get around to it. Maybe we don't tell my parents just yet... or anyone really. But we'll know, that's what matters."

Her lips covered his before he could reply to her. The kiss was deeper than usual, drawn out and passionate. His hands drew around her back and pulled her in, savouring every millimetre of contact he could make with her. When they finally pulled apart for breath, he looked at her with loving eyes.

"So that's a yes then?", he asked with a grin.

Sabine stifled another beaming smile and playfully bit her lip, "Absolutely yes, Ezra."

"Do we need to, you know, do anything?", he questioned.

"There's vows that need to be said technically, but there's no specific time to say them. Some say them when they propose, some say it at the ceremony, some at random. It depends really."

"And when do you want to say them?", Ezra entreated as he pulled her into another hug.

Sabine shrugged in his arms, "I don't know. When we get a nice moment some time. Just because we don't say it right away, doesn't make it any less true for us."

Ezra laughed a bit, "When will that be? You got something planned already?"

"Ha, no. It'll just feel right I guess, I'm not worried about it right now."

Ezra's hand traced up and down her back, earning an approving purr from her, "So what now?"

Without a word, she pushed him down onto the bed to have him lying on his back. She curled herself up against him, tightly clinging to him for all he was worth and settling into a comfortable position.

He couldn't stop himself chuckling, "Okay.. this I can do."

Sabine shifted against him and gently hit him to be quiet. It made him smile and he got the message, letting them enjoy the moment in peace. Ever since Krownest, he'd come to love their moments like this, just holding each other close. They didn't need to talk to understand each other, having her with him was enough to melt away any of his worries about anything else. His girlfriend... no, his wife-to-be, seemed to fit perfectly against him each time, as if it was always meant to be for them. As always, minutes rolled on and time passed them by without notice. He couldn't tell how long it was before she spoke to him again.

"You should move some of your stuff in here, like Hera said", she told him lazily.

"Hmm, I'll do it later, I'm too comfy right now", he answered.

Sabine scoffed jokingly, "I didn't say now, nerf-herder. I'd kill you if you moved right now."

"You say that, but you love me too much", Ezra jested with a smirk, teasingly moving his shoulder to annoy her.

The Mandalorian moved her head to look at his face, "Do I? You're assuming a lot there, Bridger."

"Well, you did just agree to marry me..."

The Mandalorian knocked him playfully, "You know we're not technically married yet? We still need our ceremony... and the vows.. and the wedding night."

The last one stuck with him, no doubt she emphasised that last one for a good reason. "Oh, so that's why you want me to move my stuff in here?"

"Part of it I suppose...", she answered as she brought her lips up to his neck. She kissed him lightly, drawing out a quiet but satisfied moan from him.

"You... you know they're... still on the Ghost... right?", he said between breaths, cut off by the sensation of her lips making contact with his bare skin.

"Ahuh...", she mumbled as she worked her way lower on him, moving around from the side of his neck to his collar bone, pulling apart the shirt there.

It was too much for him and he let out another satisfied moan, feeling her smile against him as he did so. Then, without warning, she pulled back and innocently lay her head down on his shoulder.

"W-what was that for?", his voice both confused, surprised and excited all at the same time.

The girl laughed against him, "You were right, I couldn't kill you for moving. But I can mess with you".

The young Jedi was lost for words, hardly the first time when it came to her. He let his heartrate drop back down and his... _excitement_ go down with it. With a squeeze of her and a gentle kiss on her forehead he let his eyes sink close.

"I love you."

Mumbling into his shoulder, he heard the woman he loved answer him, "Love you too, cyar'ika."

* * *

 **Yeah, as I said. Just fluffy trash with on real point, but if that isn't fan fiction I don't know what is. It is what it is I guess. They're not really married, just they've promised they will marry each other when the time comes. Think of it as an "engaged to be engaged" kind of thing. I just threw it in because I'm a sucker for commitment stuff, so I couldn't help myself.**

 **Going forward, I don't know if I'll add any more to this now. I could do something with it in the future, possibly with their vows, but I think if I ever do it's many months away. I am in the conceptual stages of something else right now, but I can't put a time frame on when, if ever, that will be out.**

 **You might have also noticed the title change. It was, admittedly, a long overdue one. I never intended to do a continuous story in this, only unconnected ones. That went out the window pretty quickly but I just never got around to changing it. Given that I'm pretty much done with this, I felt it deserved a proper title and description to explain what it is. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' is, essentially, what happened to Sabine and Ezra that pushed them to act the way they did in the story, plus it's a phrase I use verbatim in Chapter 1 so it felt appropriate.**

 **I'll have to specifically thank RagnarDanneskjold for his help on this one, he provided invaluable feedback, direction and ideas that this chapter simply couldn't have been done without. Thank you immensely, and if anyone still hasn't read his stuff yet then you owe it to yourself to go and do so.**

Kind Regards - Lothcat1138


End file.
